Water levels at the Kariba reservoir plunged to a record low of less than 1%, curtailing power supply to Zambia and Zimbabwe and shuttering the tourism and fishing industries.
The dam, which is the world’s largest human-made based on water-storage capacity, had 0.97% usable storage on Dec. 28, compared with 20% a year earlier, according to data available on the Zambezi River Authority’s website. That’s less than the previous low set almost three decades ago. Normally, water levels start rising in January.