The famous Loch Ness lake in Scotland suffers from low water levels, affected by the global climate crisis as during June and July, Scotland witnessed record high temperatures.
On a pier jutting into the lake, Gordon Mangus contemplates the calm waters and pebble bank, explaining that he had never seen the water level of Scotland’s most famous lake this low for such a long time, reports Al-Rai daily.
The 84-year-old man, who grew up near the lake, is today the chief of the port, and what he notes this year is “rare” in an area known for its humid weather and waters rich in salmon, whose numbers are now declining.
“We are used to rain, but we are not used to periods of drought like this,” Mangus told AFP.
Data released in May by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency confirms the octogenarian’s claims, indicating that fresh water in Scotland’s largest loch has fallen to its lowest level in decades.
The lake has never been as shallow as it is today since monitoring of its water level began in the early 1990s, with a depth of only 109 centimeters recorded at the location where it is usually measured. The situation is similar in other regions, including the Highlands, where experts are expressing concerns about the onset of a year with a special amount of drought.
“Everyone thinks of Scotland as a wetland, but droughts are getting more frequent as a result of climate change,” said Nathan Critchlow, the government’s water and planning officer.