Record-breaking drought in Chile offers bountiful proof of climate change

Science Minister Andres Couve said the steady decline in the country’s water reserves because of climate change was now a ‘national priority’

‘The weather events are happening with a frequency and intensity that makes it very easy for people to see’, he said

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A cow is seen on land that used to be filled with water in Paine, Chile. Photo: Reuters

Reutersin Santiago

Published: 3:46pm, 11 Aug 2021Updated: 9:58pm, 11 Aug 2021

A punishing, decade-long drought in Chile has gone from bad to worse following a scorching July, a month which typically brings midwinter weather showering the capital Santiago in rain and snow.

But a lack of precipitation this year has left the towering and typically snowcapped Andes above the city mostly bare, reservoir levels low and farm fields parched. The scenes, government officials say, are clear evidence of global warming.

On Tuesday, a central Santiago weather station had recorded just 78mm (3 inches) of rainfall so far this year compared to last year’s 180mm and an average amount of 252mm, according to Chile’s Meteorological Service.

Cows walk across a once-flooded landscape at the Aculeo Lagoon in Paine, Chile, in 2019. Photo: Reuters

Science Minister Andres Couve said on Tuesday that the steady decline in water reserves because of climate change was now a “national priority”.

He added that the government was addressing the crisis by investing in water conservation and storage, creating a post for an undersecretary of water and establishing a scientist working group on water management, as well as a climate change observatory.

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