The erratic 2023 rainy season has left Lake Chapala at its lowest year-end water level for the past three years, spawning concerns over deteriorating conditions expected in the year to come.
Official statistics show that Mexico’s largest natural lake has dipped from 75.55 percent holding capacity in December 2021 and 68.21 percent one year ago, to 48.68 percent as of December 13.
The current figure is below the 50.39 percent low mark registered at the start of the temporal de lluvias in mid-July.
According to measurements reported on December 13 by the Jalisco Water Commission (CEA), the lake stood at (Cota) 94.14 on the standard elevation scale, with a volume of 3,844.33 million cubic meters (Mm3), compared to 96.11 and 5,999.37 Mm3 on the same date two years ago.
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