By Monica Machicao
August 4, 20231:46 PM EDT

HUARINA, Bolivia, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The parched shoreline and shrinking depths of Lake Titicaca are prompting growing alarm that an ago-old way of life around South America's largest lake is slipping away as a brutal heat wave wreaks havoc on the southern hemisphere's winter.

Like many places suffering deadly consequences of climate change, the sprawling freshwater lake nestled in the Andes mountains on Bolivia's border with Peru now features a water level approaching an all-time low.

Globally, July was the hottest month on record, as prolonged dry spells take an especially heavy toll on humans and animals alike.

Titicaca is only 30 cm (1 foot) away from reaching its record low of 1996 due to severe drought, said Lucia Walper, an official with Bolivia's hydrology and meteorology service. She added that the drought could last until November in some parts of the country.

…