Which areas of Mexico are most at risk of running out of water

Water is an indispensable natural resource for humans, however, its vitality and multiple uses have led to a crisis of scarcity that progresses year after year and that increases the likelihood that different nations around the world will face the so-called Zero Day.

Mexico, for its part, has been characterized over time as one of the countries with the greatest hydraulic stress. This term refers to the fact that the percentage of water that a territory consumes out of the total that it has available in a year, does not fully correspond to the amount of water produced by the natural cycle.

In 2019, data from the World Resources Institute (WRI) indicated that Mexico was the second country with the highest hydraulic stress in Latin America, ranking only behind Chile. For its part, the Mexico Drought Monitor (MSM), of the National Meteorological System (SMN), warned in 2021 that Mexico was experiencing the second most severe drought for a decade and, likewise, detailed the areas of the country with the greatest impact.

In April 2021, the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) reported that three quarters of the territory was suffering from a lack of rainfall, while half of the country was already facing a situation of extreme drought, as some of the most important dams were below 25 per cent of their total capacity.

According to the Mexico Drought Monitor (MSM), there are five areas in the country where hydraulic stress has been accentuated, which correspond to places where the largest cities or food production grounds are located.

Among the areas most affected by water scarcity in Mexico are the northwest of the country, including the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, the Rio Bravo in the part corresponding to Nuevo León, the Lerma basin, Santiago and Pacifico in Jalisco, the Valley of Mexico and the Balsas Region.

Similarly, Christian Domínguez Sarmiento, from the Center for Atmospheric Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), stated that “northern Mexico is where the drought landscape has been most accentuated and water scarcity is affecting two areas: agricultural activities such as agriculture and livestock to which 76.7 per cent of water is allocated nationally, while only 14.2 per cent is for human consumption”.

Academics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) also pointed out that the weather phenomenon of La Niña has a great influence in accentuating water scarcity in the country.

In addition, Karina Caballero Güendulain, an academic at the Faculty of Economics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), reported that hydraulic stress is driven by demographic and economic growth as well as by climate change and ecosystem degradation. He also asserted that this phenomenon affects a quarter of the world's population.

Through a newsletter, Karina Caballero also detailed that there is a high inequality in access to this natural resource in the country, which has been associated mainly to geographical factors, lack of water infrastructure, low application of innovative technologies and the failure to modernize governance policies, regulations and practices.

The Mexico Drought Monitor (MSM) reported that as of March 15, 2022, the area with moderate to exceptional drought was 30.4% nationwide, 7.3% higher than quantified on February 28 of the same year.

Although the outlook for 2022 in Mexico is still uncertain, the background of the figures recorded last year call on the population to take care of this natural resource within their means, just as authorities must prepare strategies and public policies to combat the water shortage crisis throughout the country. .

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