Satellite images show Mexico's severe drought from space

The reduced capacity of the lagoon meant death for thousands of fish.

The low water levels have further worsened the concentration of pollutants, leading to further deterioration of water quality and additional stress for the fish, Irma de la Pena, head of the ecology department of the city of Cuauhtemoc, told CNN in June.

The Bustillos Lagoon is an important source of water for the state of Chihuahua and is mainly used to irrigate nearly 20,000 agricultural areas. Due to the limited water supply, the people of Chihuahua have seen their crops and livestock wither.

However, it is not just the Bustillos Lagoon. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, over 85% of the country was affected by drought in May, and some areas have seen little rainfall since late 2022.

You can see more images of the drought-stricken Mexican lakes in the video below.

The drought “has caused quite a large rainfall deficit in both the northwest and southern parts of the country,” Derek Vollmer, director of Waterscapes at WWF, told Business Insider.

The view from space is grim, but images from the ground reveal an even grimmer reality for the people, plants and animals struggling with the drought.

Some farmers cannot provide adequate water for their livestock, and cows and donkeys have died during the hot, dry months. Other farmers have left the area because conditions are so harsh, rancher Jesus Maria Palacios told Reuters in June.

Even the bees are dying.

“Because of the drought, there is almost no vegetation in the landscape right now,” beekeeper Adan Rascon Ramos told Reuters. This includes thirsty wildflowers that have not bloomed.

The result is that bees turn to the few remaining agricultural crops in search of pollen and herbicides kill them in droves.

An unusually dry year

Using data from the Landsat satellite, researchers can determine that the current drought in Mexico is more widespread than the last one in 2011, as two regions were affected: the north and the south-central.

“From hundreds of miles up in space, we can observe things like droughts and see very subtle changes in what's happening on the landscape,” Terry Sohl of the USGS's Earth Resources Observation and Science Center told BI.

Several factors have led to the recent drought. Last year, El Niño did not bring the usual rainfall in the north, and a weak La Niña affected rainfall in the south and center of the country. According to NOAA, the first half of this year was also very dry, which exacerbated the problem.

Tropical storms brought some relief to central and southwestern Mexico in June, but drought still lingers in northwestern Mexico.

More than half of Mexico's reservoirs are currently at 50 percent or less full. “It will take a lot of additional rainfall to refill that,” Vollmer said. “One good downpour is not going to eliminate the drought.”

Vollmer said drier conditions could become more permanent in some regions. Droughts are classified based on historical averages, he said, but “we're moving toward new conditions.” What was once a drought could now be the new normal.

There are some possible measures to protect against future droughts. WWF is working in Mexico to help communities create water reserves by taking measures to keep river systems above a certain level. Originally this was an attempt to safeguard biodiversity, but “it's increasingly seen as a kind of insurance against these drought conditions,” Vollmer said.