Lake Victoria

26-08-2023

01:10 PM

1 min read

Prelims: World Geography

Overview:

Recently, a new scientific report published in the journal Nature shows that significant precipitation changes and increasing extreme climate events affecting the large human populations as well as endemic biodiversity of Lake Victoria Basin

Key findings of the report:

Heavy rains, wind storms, and floods threaten the survival and water access of the communities living in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB), East Africa.
Nearly 40 million inhabitants are strongly affected by extreme weather events such as regular flooding.
The resultant massive flooding in lake-adjacent areas displaced over 200,000 people in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Lake Victoria and its surrounding wetlands and forests have faced extreme pressure and degradation due to rapid population growth, agricultural expansion, urbanisation and industrialisation.

About Lake Victoria:

It is the world’s second-largest freshwater lake.
Location: It is located in East Africa, bordered by Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.
It is also called Victoria Nyanza in Kenya, Nalubaale in Uganda, and Ukerewe in Tanzania.
It is a source of the White Nile River which flows northward and eventually joins the Blue Nile in Sudan to form the Nile River.
The lake supports the largest freshwater fishery in the world, producing 1 million tons of fish per year and employing 200,000 people in supporting the livelihoods of 4 million people.

Q1) What is rift valley?

A rift valley is a linear depression or lowland area on the Earth's surface that is formed by the stretching and pulling apart of the crust. It is typically characterized by steep walls or cliffs on either side.

Source: More robust measures needed to minimise disaster impact in Lake Victoria Basin: Study