Lake Chad 'dying'

This essay is part of a (more or less) weekly feature on this blog that presents interesting stories from elsewhere in the world, particularly Africa, that are little reported in the American media. It's part of my campaign to get people to realize there is a lot going on in the world outside the US, Israel, Iraq, North Korea and Iran.

While most of the greenhouse gases that the scientific consensus believes causes climate change are emitted in industrialized and industrializing countries, it's largely pastoral Africa that's suffering worst effects of global warming.

(Incidentally, kudos to the European Union for taking responsibility for their excesses and trying moderate them. In choosing to adapt to reality, the EU is positioning itself to be an economic leader in developing green technologies.)

The Sahara Desert is creeping further southward. Regions of West Africa that were lush 30 years ago are now dry scrublands. Drought and hunger are now increasingly common in the band of the continent stretching from Senegal and Mali east through Ethiopia and Somalia. Decades ago, these countries had food self-sufficiency, but that was back when they had rain.

One of the victims is Lake Chad. Lake Chad is one of Africa's largest and most important lakes. It's also dying, as this BBC piece explains.

Experts are warning that the lake, which was once Africa's third largest inland water body, could shrink to a mere pond in two decades.

German and American scientists blamed global warming and human activity, such as dams.

The fishing industry in towns around Lake Chad is in crisis. Locals also report that birds and other animals are also dying. The decreased water amounts also severely affects pastoralists.

In a mere 40 years, the surface of the lake has shrunk by a mind-boggling 80 percent.