Climate Change, Environment

Brack: Lima’s water supply secure over next years

Lima’s water supply is secure over the next few years, however residents of the Peruvian capital should be using it responsibly, state news agency Andina reported Environment Minister Antonio Brack as saying.

He added that Lima has a sufficient supply of water from reservoirs and lakes, however climate change continues to affect the source of the city’s drinking water, the tropical glaciers located in the country’s highlands.

“The effects of climate change are being seen in Peru and the world. In the case of water supply, we are observing that there won’t be a shortage of this resource in the capital, but it needs to be used rationally, respecting the water cycle,” Brack said.

Water is a dire issue in Peru’s southern coastal area, home to one of the most arid regions in the world.

“The city of Tacna has grown rapidly and they have officially declared the exhaustion of water. That is to say, they should not sign more contracts for water use, because it’s not available. Something similar is occurring in Moquegua, where the shortage is a serious problem,” Brack added.

Peru is home to some 70 percent of Earth’s tropical glaciers. The country’s glaciers, which feed hydroelectric plants and provide drinking water to Lima, the world’s second largest desert city after Cairo, Egypt, are in the process of accelerated meltdown due to global warming.

According to Peru’s National Resources Institute, or Inrena, the Andes Mountains have lost at least 22 percent of their glacier area since 1970.

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