Under the heat of the dry-season sun, the lake looks vast. But, earlier this year, a severe effect of El Niño caused the worst mid-rainy season dry spell in southern Africa in a century.
That has led to authorities rationing the water allowed to flow through the dam and, in recent months, power cuts of up to 21 hours a day in Zambia on the lake's northern side and 17 hours in Zimbabwe to the south.
The load shedding is devastating livelihoods and hitting the countries' already weak economies - Zambia is still recovering from a drawn-out debt restructuring and Zimbabwe is throttled by chronically high inflation.
Average temperatures have been rising in recent decades in both countries as climate breakdown takes hold.
"This is the worst [it's ever been]," said Cephas Museba, the manager of the hydropower plant on Zambia's side of the lake, who has worked for the country's national power company, Zesco, since 2005.
この記事は The Guardian Weekly の November 22, 2024 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は The Guardian Weekly の November 22, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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