Mexico has faced, since the summer of 2023, one of the more severe droughts that the territory has suffered in more than a decade. However, during 2024, the drought has intensified and spread widely, this was announced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), who showed what this phenomenon looks like from the space.
This is what the extreme drought in Mexico looks like from space, according to NASA
The images shared by the POT show the impact of extreme drought in some parts of the Mexican territory. One of them is Bravo Valleyone of the three main reservoirs that store water for Mexico City.
The first satelital image shows the Valle de Bravo reservoir on May 17, 2024. Mexico’s Water Secretariat, Conagua, reported that water levels in the reservoir had fallen to 28% of its capacity on June 7, 2024.
In contrast, this second image shows the reservoir on May 20, 2022, when the Cutzamala system contained approximately twice as much water.
According to the POTthe amount of water in the Cutzamala system overall it has been reduced to approximately 25% of total capacity. The lack of water has led authorities to begin reduce the supply of vital fluid that the system delivers to the Mexico City. Some analysts warn that many taps in the city could run dry in the coming months.
This is confirmed by the records of the Mexican Drought Monitor (MSM) of With water. According to the data, the area of Bravo Valley It was in the “moderate drought” category on January 31, 2023. Instead, by May 31, 2024, it was classified on the “extreme drought” scale.
The images obtained by POT show what the extreme drought in Mexico from space were taken by NASA’s OLI (Operational Land Imager) satellites on Landsat 8 and OLI-2 on Landsat 9.
Why is the drought in this area of Mexico worrying?
He Valle de Bravo reservoir is part of the Cutzamala water systeman inter-basin network of reservoirs and canals that transports surface water from the Cutzamala River until the Mexico City. This provides the capital with around 25% of its water.
A second water network that connects to the Lerma river It provides about 8% of the city’s water. The rest comes from wells that exploit underground aquifers.
The POT He also indicated that the amount of annual precipitation in the Cutzamala basin in 2022 and 2023 it was about a third of the average of the last 40 years, according to meteorological data.
This lack of rain and surface water, and a powerful heat wave in May that increased the rate of surface water evaporation, have intensified the need for pumping underground water in recent months, contributing to the dry state of the aquifers in the region.
In fact, the following map, provided by the Administration and measured by the GRACE-FO satellites (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On), shows the Shallow groundwater storage in Mexico during the week of May 27, 2024.
The colors on the map represent the humidity percentile, a measure of how the groundwater levels with long-term records from May.
- The blue zones They have more water than usual.
- The orange and red areas they have less.
- The darker reds They represent dry conditions that should occur only 2% of the time (about once every 50 years).
States most affected by extreme and exceptional drought
According to the POTthe “extreme” and “exceptional” droughtaccording to the classification of North American Drought Monitor, now affects several states in Mexico. States experiencing these drought categories include:
- Sonora
- Chihuahua
- Sinaloa
- Durango
- Tamaulipas
- San Luis Potosi
- Guanajuato
- Queretaro
- Gentleman
How are droughts affecting Mexico?
As drought persists in Mexico, the effects of this become more acute. Among its main effects are the burning of crops, the exacerbation of fires and overloading water systems throughout the country, indicated the US space agency.
Meanwhile, he also highlighted that concerns about the water supply have become particularly acute in Mexico City. This is because the capital of 19 million inhabitants, where reservoirs have fallen to historically low levels and underground aquifers are almost exhausted.
The seasonal rains They generally begin to fall around Mexico City in June and continue through September, so precipitation may provide some relief to dry reservoirs in the coming weeks.
