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At Lake Velence, around 40 kilometres west of Budapest, metal steps that once led down to the shoreline now just hit sand. The water\u2019s edge is several metres away. <\/p>\n
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According to P\u00e1l \u00c1rp\u00e1d E\u00f6tv\u00f6s, mayor of the town of G\u00e1rdony that lies on the shores of the lake, the waterbody was within just 10 centimetres of its lowest recorded level at the end of May. <\/p>\n
Experts suggest that this threshold could be reached as early as mid-June, reports local news site Daily News Hungary.<\/p>\n
The dire situation has arisen from prolonged droughts, lack of rainfall and decades of water mismanagement \u2013 and it\u2019s putting the area\u2019s ecosystem and tourism industry at risk. <\/p>\n
Hungary\u2019s third-largest lake is disappearing<\/p>\n
Lake Velence usually welcomes scores of tourists in summer who come for sailing and swimming holidays. <\/p>\n
But on 9 June, the \u2060lake\u2019s water level measured 56 cm at the town of Agard, according to data from \u200bthe National Directorate General for Water Management. <\/p>\n
That is just 3 cm above a historic low of \u200b53 cm recorded in 2022, when Hungary was struck by an extreme drought<\/a>. <\/p>\n The hottest months are still to come, and during this period water levels can fall by as much as 20 to 25 cm in a single month, says Daily News Hungary.<\/p>\n Without substantial rainfall, the water level could drop \u200bby half a centimetre each day, reaching as low as 30 cm by summer\u2019s end, experts \u200btold Reuters.<\/p>\n Climate change is driving the lake\u2019s disappearance<\/a>, but decades of poor water management such as draining wetlands to be repurposed for agriculture is also to blame, Tibor Horanyi from the Association of Great Lakes said.<\/p>\n While historic records show that Lake Velence has dried up completely in the past, the concern is now how frequent water shortages have become. <\/p>\n Now, the lake\u2019s annual water loss \u2013 mostly due to evaporation \u2013 is greater than the inflow from precipitation. <\/p>\n Tourism and wildlife at risk<\/p>\n Tourism businesses that offer services like pleasure boating or sailing excursions are already feeling the impact. According to Daily News Hungary, many have not opened at all this season and some boat owners have already relocated to nearby Lake Balaton. <\/p>\n The lake\u2019s wildlife is also suffering, T\u00f3th S\u00e1ndor, civil engineer and the president of the Fej\u00e9r County Chamber of Engineers, explained in an article on news site Telex\u2019s G7.<\/p>\n The prolonged water shortage<\/a> is deteriorating reed beds while waterfowl and fish are finding their habitat shrinking. <\/p>\n Nesting birds and their chicks are also at risk as former breeding islands are turned into dry land. <\/p>\n Shallower water also warms more quickly, accelerating algae bloom growth, which can lead to poorer water quality. <\/p>\n Can the lake\u2019s waters be replenished?<\/p>\n