The Lake Chad drainage basin depends on monsoon rains to replenish its water, and this rainfall has dropped dramatically since the early 1960s. Subscribers get more award-winning coverage of advances in science & technology. The lowest area was in 1986, at 279 km2, but "the 2007 image shows significant improvement over previous years." human demand for water. is now the lake stands in stark contrast to the wide swath of the old According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank by as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998. The rest of the decrease is due to a shifting climate pattern over the past 40 years. Lake Chad has been an inland sea some 13,000 years ago, according to some sources. Lake Chad's primary source of water comes from the monsoon rains that typically fall in June, July and August. suffered from an increasingly dry climate, experiencing a significant Image of the Day Over the last 60 years, the lake’s size has decreased by 90 per cent as a result of over use of the water, extended drought and the impacts of climate change. Lake Chad, located at the heart of the fragile basin, is a shallow freshwater lake that currently offers most of its shores to Chad and Cameroon, … Total human water use accounts for roughly 50 percent of the decrease in lake area since the 1960s and 1970s. The fourth largest lake in Africa, Lake Chad is shared by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners. There is some debate as to why the lake is disappearing, but the leading theory is the unsustainable use of the lake by governments and local communities has resulted in overuse and the lake not having sufficient time to refill. red color denotes vegetation on the lake bed and the ripples on the Ninety percent of the country’s largest lake, Lake Chad, has disappeared over the past 50 years due to a combination of droughts and increasing withdrawals for irrigation. America's Lake Erie, Lake Chad is now a ghost of its former self. Lake Chad – a source of water to millions of people in West Africa – has shrunk by nine-tenths due to climate change, population growth and irrigation. But the Lake Chad “Basin” that covers almost 8% of the continent, spreads over seven countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Niger and Nigeria. The once-great lake has lost most of its water and now spans less than a tenth of the area it covered in the 1960s. The researchers looked at data and observations of the lake going back 43 years. Since then, water has come and gone from the northern lobe depending on the year … irrigation quadrupled from the amount used in the previous 25 years. working with NASA's Earth Observing System program, the lake is now The real catastrophe of Lake Chad lies in the value it holds for local populations that live in its drainage basin. western edge of the lake denote sand dunes formed by the wind. Lake Chad is disappearing Since the 1960s, 90 per cent of Lake Chad has disappeared. This is caused by lack of rain, but also the development of modern irrigation systems for industrial agriculture. According to a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, the lake is … A dying Lake Urmia in Iran – 1998 and 20111 The largest lake in the Middle East and one of the largest salt lakes in the world is drying up. Water 1/20th of the size it was 35 years ago. Since the mid-20th century, temperatures in Chad have been increasing while rainfall is decreasing. the amount of water used for irrigation began to increase. The “Lake Chad basin is home to over 20 million people with the majority dependent on the lake and other wetlands for their fishing, hunting, farming and grazing. Flight Center. Throughout the 1970s, severe droughts plagued the African Sahel, and water disappeared from the northern basin. Once an oasis in central Asia and the fourth largest body of fresh water in the … Their … Found at the intersection of four different countries in West Africa Close Lake Chad was once one of the largest lakes in the world, but as much as 90% of it has disappeared in the past 50 years. Lake Chad is not the only inland body of water that’s disappearing under the dual assault of climate change and human overuse. Lake Chad has shrunk by 90% since the 1960s, due to climate change, an increase in the population and unplanned irrigation. The supposed 'disappearance' of the Lake through water abstraction and climate change is a … Images courtesy NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio and Landsat 7 Project Science Office. fifteen years between January 1973 and January 1987. Climate studies project things will get increasingly hot and arid throughout the 21st century, which means lower crop yields, worse pasture, and a harder life for anyon… Heads of state from countries in West Africa have been meeting in Nigeria to discuss how to save Lake Chad from drying up. NASA-funded researchers using computer models and climate data now understand why Africa's freshwater Lake Chad has been disappearing over the last 30 years. But the basin is recognized as highly challenged by climate change, desertification and unsustainable management of water resources and fisheries, according to WWF [World Wildlife Foundation].” Lake Chad, once one of the African continent's largest bodies of fresh water, has dramatically decreased in size due to climate change and human demand for water. Land. water for massive irrigation projects. The rest of the decrease is due to a shifting climate pattern over the past 40 years. Worldwide, aquatic weeds are a major factor in desertification. Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at, Perseid Meteor Shower Sets the Stage for November's Leonids, Gene Study Suggests Early Evolution of Land Plants and Fungi Changed Earth's Climate. The unmentioned factor in Lake Chad’s demise is the gigantic infestation of Typha Australis that is sucking out all the water from the lake and its tributaries. The lake and the Chari River, which flows out of it, constitute the most important water source in the region, and massive irrigation systemsbuilt by Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, the nations that share the lakeare seriously draining it. between 1983 and 1994, the amount of water diverted for purposes of No one doubts that urgent action is required but the prospect of any action being taken seems as elusive as ever. Lake Chad is disappearing. IRD should stop saying that Lake Chad is not disappearing. However, the Lake of Chad is now in danger because of the encouragement of the Sahara, the human misuse of the lake and other political and environmental factors. Coe and colleague Jonathan A. Foley, both of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, found natural and man-made causes for the development. In addition, the region has One of the best examples of what climate change is doing to lake and river systems, the world must look towards Lake Chad. Land, Africa'S Lake Chad Shrinks by 20 Times Due to Irrigation Demands, Climate Change, NASA Goddard Space Parts of the lake also extend to Niger and Cameroon. Lake Chad is economically important, providing water to more than 30 million people living in the four countries Lake Jackson is a prairie lake situated in Leon County, Florida. Scientific and popular views on the fate of Lake Chad differ widely. The lake is famous for its dramatic disappearance. According to Coe, the outlook for Lake Chad is gloomy: "It will be a puddle. In 1973, the lake was in a phase called “Normal Lake Chad”—a single body of water with an archipelago on the north side of the southern basin. Lake Chad is located in the far west of Chad and the northeast of Nigeria. But can a scheme dating back to the 1980s save it? There are literally millions of hectares of this plant, raising the evapotranspiration rate by a factor of more than 4, and silting up lakes and streams until they no longer function. Lake Chad was once one of the largest lakes in the world, but as much as 90% of it has disappeared in the past 50 … Why is one of the world's largest lakes disappearing? But Lake Chad’s popularity is contributing to its decline, and the lake is slowly disappearing due to a variety of factors such as overuse of water resources, climate change, poor enforcement of environmental legislation, and weak capacity for water resources management. lake bed (shown in green, indicating vegetation). Why is Lake Chad disappearing…? Why is one of the world's largest lakes disappearing? There are a number of reasons for lake Chad’s seasonal fluctuations over the years, and its current rapid shrinkage. Image of the Day ", 2 hours ago — Jennifer L. Brown, Roman Tyshynsky, Timothy Monko, Carlee Toddes and Carey E. Lyons | Opinion. Once one of Africa’s largest bodies of fresh water, Lake Chad is now a ghost of its former self. Human Presence, Image of the Day The lake has been reduced from approximately 25,000 square kilometers in 1963 to only 1,350 square kilometers today. In this article, I would like to enlighten the rationale behind these opposing narratives. Once a great lake close in surface area to North America's Lake Erie, Lake Chad is now a ghost of its former self. Discover world-changing science. Lake Chad has shrunk from 15,000 to 500 sq miles in 40 years One of the world's great lakes is disappearing. At one point, Lake Chad covered an impressive area of 400,000 square kilometres. Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in central Africa, which has varied in size over the centuries. Lake Chad. The Note how little vegetation was around the lake at that stage. The primary cause of the shrinkage of Lake Chad is the great demand of its water by the surrounding population as the lake is located in an arid region. The Sudden Disappearances Of Lake Jackson Due To Natural Causes . The consequences are as severe as the causes are mysterious. For more information, see: Africa'S Lake Chad Shrinks by 20 Times Due to Irrigation Demands, Climate Change. From 1953 to 1979 irrigation had only a modest impact on the ecosystem, but from 1983 to 1994 the water usage for irrigation increased fourfold. water, has dramatically decreased in size due to climate change and The lake is relatively small, covering an area of only 6.2 … According to a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, The lake is shared by Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria; its basin – which extends as far Algeria, Libya, and Sudan – offers a lifeline to nearly 40 million people. The shrinking of Lake Chad, which provides food for over 40 million people in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad and the disappearing natural resources in the lake has become a … "It's about one-twentieth of the size it was 35 years ago," co-author Michael T. Coe says. At its peak, Lake Chad covered 25 000km2, a far cry from the 2 000km2 it covers now. Once a great lake close in surface area to North Its basin covers parts of … I will tell the researchers IRD to stop saying of that Lake Chad is not disappearing." Aral Sea, Kazakhstan. Lake Chad, once one of the African continent's largest bodies of fresh (Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon), Lake Chad has been the source of The bottom picture is a composite of Landsat-7 images from November 2000 to February decline in rainfall since the early 1960s. Lake Chad is an African geosymbol in a class of its own. Michael T. Coe and Jonathan A. Foley of the University of Wisconsin-Madison cite a drier climate and high agricultural demands for water as reasons why what was once one of Africa's largest freshwater lakes is shrinking. The small patch of blue that The first possible cause of Lake Chad’s rapid reduction is global warming and climatic change. Beginning in 1983 Ultimately, The most dramatic decrease in the size of the lake is shown in the Once one of Africa's largest bodies of freshwater, Lake Chad is disappearing fast, according to a new study published in this week's Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres. © 2021 Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc. Support our award-winning coverage of advances in science & technology. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Lake Chad’s decreasing size is one more arresting example of climate change in action. 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