Population and water risk in Andean countries
While the accelerated melting of glaciers in the Andean region is well understood and reported, the consequences to hydrological processes and human uses and activities are less clear and unequivocal. The consequences can be severe, as the decreasing amount of stream flow exacerbates seasonal variability and people´s vulnerability to extreme weather and climate change. The extreme drought in Bolivia in 2016–2017 is such an example, in which it caused the country to call out emergency status as reservoirs dried out and water needed to be rationed (Perez et al., 2017). Another example is the ‘mega-drought’ between 2010–2015 in central Chile, where rainfall was below average and caused severe water shortages in central Chile and western Argentina (Garreaud et al., 2017).
Year: 2019
From collection: The Andean Glacier and Water Atlas
Cartographer: Riccardo Pravettoni