Gazing out over what was as soon as one in every of Bosnia’s largest reservoirs, Saliha Kuljanin is confronted with a desolate sight: boats stranded on cracked earth as months of relentless drought have drained Lake Jablanicko to a shadow of its former self.
“The climate has certainly changed, but this is scary!” Kuljanin, 68, informed Agence France-Presse (AFP) close to the lake’s receding shores in southern Bosnia.
For years, the village of Ostrozac, the place Kuljanin lives, had profited from the vacationers attracted by Jablanicko’s emerald waters.
But the rain has dried up this yr and its water ranges have plummeted.
Every yr, because the summer time ends, water is regularly launched from the 30-kilometer (18-mile) lengthy lake in order that the autumn rains could be absorbed.
“Its levels vary a little – it goes down and up. But now, I don’t know what’s going on,” mentioned Kuljanin, pointing to the beached boats removed from the remaining sliver of water left within the space.
Bosnia could also be one in every of Europe’s poorest nations, nevertheless it has lengthy been wealthy in a single useful resource: water.
The World Bank estimates Bosnia’s sources of renewable recent water at practically 10 cubic metres (350 cubic toes) per individual per yr.
Some of Europe’s most pristine rivers run by the nation’s rugged terrain, making it a paradise for rafters, kayakers and different outside fanatics.
But the dearth of rainfall this yr has modified the equation. “The drought has been truly catastrophic,” Kuljanin mentioned.
Further upstream, the lake has fully dried out.
The lack of water has additionally difficult operations for a close-by energy plant that depends on the lake’s dam for power.
Landslides
“The year 2024 was exceptionally bad for the functioning of the power plants,” mentioned Fahrudin Tanovic, an govt at public energy firm Elektroprivreda BiH.
“As last winter there was no snow, the inflow of water into the lake in spring was perhaps at the lowest level since its existence.”
Thermal energy crops nonetheless produce a lot of Bosnia’s energy, accounting for between 55% and 70% of the nation’s electrical energy at any time, in keeping with the statistics workplace.
Hydroelectric crops produce many of the remaining energy, with simply 4% coming from photo voltaic or wind.
The drought has made close by areas extra prone to landslides, because the soil dries out and loosens.
In the close by Jablanica space, not less than 27 folks had been killed by sudden heavy rains in October that flooded cities and triggered landslides.
Scientists warn that local weather change is making excessive climate occasions extra frequent.
Source: www.dailysabah.com