Lake Chad 'dying'

Lake Chad is one of Africa's largest and most important lakes. It's also dying, as this BBC piece explains.

Experts are warning that the lake, which was once Africa's third largest inland water body, could shrink to a mere pond in two decades.

German and American scientists blamed global warming and human activity, such as dams.

The fishing industry in towns around Lake Chad is in crisis. Locals also report that birds and other animals are also dying. The decreased water amounts also severely affects pastoralists.

In a mere 40 years, the surface of the lake has shrunk by a mind-boggling 80 percent.