Wildfires

Wildfires - Colombia

The low level of water in Colombia's rivers has officials on standby to deal with the effects of a drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has helped wildfires spread and led to water rationing.

The drought in the Andean and Caribbean regions is the result of a combination of adverse factors, Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies Institute, or IDEAM, director Omar Franco told EFE.

Rainfall in September was 50 percent of the normal precipitation level, while El Niño has caused "a rise in temperatures of between 5 and 6 degrees Celsius (9 to 10.8 F) in some regions of the country," Franco said.

The northern, southern and western basins of Colombia show distress and officials are especially concerned about some portions of the Magdalena River, which crosses the country from south to north, where "the situation is quite critical," Franco said.

The lack of rain and the high temperatures have sparked forest fires, with about 67 wildfires currently active, a situation the Environment Ministry describes as "complex.”.