According to AFP, Lake Baringo and many other lakes in Kenya's Rift Valley have risen to unprecedented levels in at least half a century, forcing tens of thousands of people to relocate to higher areas.
Mr. Jackson Komen, chief forest ranger of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), said that the water level of the lakes continues to rise, causing crocodiles and hippos to approach residential areas, thereby increasing attacks.
AFP's analysis of satellite images of Copernicus Sentinel and NASA Landsat shows that the surface area of Baringo Lake has increased by 70% since 2010, from about 138km2 to 234km2. This is an important water source for daily life, irrigation and maintaining fishing activities of local people.
Bogoria Lake, located nearby, famous for its high sodium content, also increased its area by 21% in the same period, from 34km2 to 41km2.
The rising water level has narrowed the distance between the 2 lakes, including 1 freshwater lake and 1 alkaline lake. The current distance is only about 10km.
Mr. Komen warned that if the two lakes merge, the ecosystem could be seriously disrupted, threatening the lives of fish, crocodiles and hippos, and causing an unprecedented ecological disaster to respond to.
Scientist Mathew Herrnegger of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (Austria) said that the phenomenon of water overflow between the two lakes has begun to occur, when satellite data showed that the water level of Bogoria Lake was high enough to overflow towards Baringo Lake.
Rising water levels and the expanded area of 2 lakes are causing heavy damage to the local tourism industry. According to Mr. Komen, 80% of community wildlife sanctuaries have been lost, forcing giraffes, ostrich, pigs and antelopes to move to safe places.
AFP reported that at least 4 resorts were submerged by Baringo Lake, while another was isolated and abandoned on the island. At Bogoria Lake, rising water levels caused many flamingos to leave and flooded some hot springs.
Director of the local disaster response agency Michael Baimet said that tourism revenue decreased from about 1 million USD to 200,000 USD per year. Tourists also complained about the decline in the number of flamingos and many routes unable to travel due to rising water.
Rising water levels also seriously affect schools. Official figures show that 12 educational institutions around Lake Baringo and Bogoria were affected, some of which were completely submerged.
At Kokwa Island Primary and Secondary School in Marigat, about 240 students and staff have to take a ferry across Baringo Lake - where there are many crocodiles to go to school. The only ferry has to pass continuously, reducing study time, while the women's dormitory is only a few centimeters from the water's edge.
