November 19, 2022, 4:30 PM
November 19, 2022, 4:30 PM
Drought causes fish deaths in the lower basin of the Pilcomayo riverin Tarija, where the flow was reduced and could worsen until reaching an environmental catastrophe if there is no rain in the following weeks.
The head of the Biodiversity and Codefauna Unit of the Government of Tarija, Evelio Téllez, confirmed that that part of the Pilcomayo is the most affected by the weather phenomenon because there is no water connection in the lower part.
“Fish cannot migrate to small or large marshes because the river has dried up. If it does not rain these days, unfortunately we will be talking about a catastrophe. There is a mortality that is being seen and if there is no rain we are going to talk about millions and not hundreds of dead fish, “she warned.
The person in charge of the Pilcomayo Alert System (SAP), Luis María de la Cruz, affirmed that it is drying up in the channels of Argentina and Paraguay because being so low, the water is absorbed on the way and after more than 100 kilometers it disappears.
At your discretion, climate change has its impact possibly in the third succession of the La Niña phenomenon.
The Pilcomayo river (river of the birds) is born in the upper basin of the territory of Boliviain a mountainous area, and runs through Argentina and Paraguay.
Téllez indicated that, unlike the lower basin, the flow of the Pilcomayo river in the middle and upper part has not yet decreased, but there is a risk if there is no rainfall in the coming weeks.
However, he said that constant monitoring of the amount of water is carried out in that tributary.
De la Cruz mentioned that the river at the height of Mission La Paz – Pozo Hondothe measured flow was 4,688 m3/s with a hydrometric height of 2.84 meters four days ago.
“This is the lowest flow so far at that station since 1964“lamented the person in charge of the Pilcomayo Alert System, which is in charge of monitoring the hydrological behavior of the river that is part of the La Plata Basin.
