Geography

The Penuelas reservoir in central Chile was till 20 years past the most source of water for the town of Valparaiso, holding enough water for 38,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

·       Water for only two pools now remains. Geographical location Peñuelas Lake is a reservoir in Valparaíso Region, Chile.

·       It supplies drinking water, together with another lake called Los Aromos, to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar.

·       The reservoir and therefore the surrounding space are protected among Lago Peñuelas National Reserve that is part of la Campana-Peñuelas part Reserve.

·       Reasons for lake turning into desert: Amid an historic 13-year drought, rainfall levels have slumped in Chile, which hugs the continent’s Pacific coast.

·       Higher air temperatures have meant snow within the Andes, once a key store of water for spring and summer, isnt compacting, melts quicker, or turns straight to vapor.

·       The drought has hit mine output in the world’s largest copper producer, stoked tensions over water use for lithium and farming, and led capital Santiago to make unprecedented plans for potential water rationing.

·       Normally, low-pressure storms from the Pacific unload precipitation over Chile in winter, recharging aquifers and packing the Andes Mountains with snow.

·       But naturally occurring warming of the sea off Chile’s coast, which blocks storms from arriving, has been intensified by rising global sea temperature, according to a global study on sea temperature and rainfall deficits.

Ozone depletion and greenhouse gasses affecting Antarctic, meanwhile, exacerbate weather patterns that draw storms removed from Chile, according to a study on variables poignant Antarctic weather.