The water level of Lake Titicaca fell 53 centimeters in Puno, Peru, between May 1 and October 6, 2026, and Senamhi, the national weather service, estimates the loss will approach 70 centimeters by late November. Officials link the decline to a shortage of rain that is being attributed to El Niño.
The region is already under an emergency declaration for lack of rainfall. If farmland in the southern Andes yields less, the effect could also be felt in the money thousands of Peruvian families receive from the United States.
