Severe Bolivian drought hurts crops, threatens capital

Carlos Valdez, Associated Press

Updated 3:06 pm, Tuesday, January 3, 2017




CARACOLLO, Bolivia (AP) — Last year, the flowering quinoa plants painted Florencio Tola's farmlands in vibrant sepia and ochre tones.

But this season, all that could be seen was the straw color of dried-out stalks that never germinated amid Bolivia's worst drought in 30 years. Nearby a collection of scrawny cows, with their ribs protruding and flaccid udders, grazed on what little vegetation could be found on the sere ground.

"It's as if I had never sown anything," said Tola, 60, who like thousands of other farmers planted his quinoa in October ahead of the rainy season that usually runs through March.

He and thousands of other farmers in the Bolivian high plains believe they have been hit by a particularly strong weather phenomenon known as El Nino, caused by warming waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Crops and livestock were decimated, and reservoirs that supply the capital of La Paz and other cities have dropped to alarming levels. Lake Poopo, Bolivia's second-largest, has dried up entirely.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Severe-Bolivian-drought-hurts-crops-threatens-10832399.php

Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1127107290