Landsat Captures Mexico's Trending Drought (Image of the Week)

Prolonged drought has lowered water levels in Laguna Bustillos in Chihuahua State, Mexico, killing thousands of fish.

Precipitation has been down drastically, with little significant rain since autumn 2023. Combined with record heat, this yearlong lack of moisture reduced large swaths of the lake to mudflats, revealed in these Landsat images from January to June 2024. The dry and arid conditions have reduced Laguna Bustillos to 50% of its original capacity.

Farther south, these Landsat satellite images of Lake Zumpango and Lake Cuitzeo document the trend for their region of Mexico. Of the 213 most important reservoirs, only two are at full capacity, while 160 are below 50%. The USGS Landsat program, the “gold standard” source for data surrounding land change sciences, will continue to monitor all variations created by the drought—or by restorative rain when it returns.