WET FACE OF VICTORIA FALLS IS HERE AGAIN: Foreign media reported that the falls may dry up

COULD the Victoria Falls dry up? That was the question BBC’s Stephen Sackur and Sky News’ Alex Crawford posed last December in their documentaries about Zambia in which they claimed “the effects of severe drought and climate change are having an impact on one of the world’s great natural wonder, Victoria Falls.”

The shows, which were aired and carried by many other western media organisations who included the Telegraph, Reuters, Guardian and The Independent, had incensed local tour operators, saying it had caused “substantial damage to the local tourism industry”, prompting them to gather at the falls and take pictures to dispel the notion that Victoria Falls may be drying up.

In fact, soon after, a hashtag #VictoriaFallsIsNotDry was generated and made quite a number of rounds on social media.

Two months later, the Victoria Falls which many feared would soon dry up, has ‘awakened’ and is, again, gushing out abundant waters into the Zambezi River from its many tributaries. But even with all the stories that were said about the falls, it didn’t stop British author Val Morrison from visiting it, with her husband of 36 years, Keith.

She says she did not believe the stories she heard about the falls drying up. “I didn’t believe it even for a bit. The moment I read the stories, I said to myself, this is all but just fake news,” says Mrs Morrison.

The couple which has two children back home in England were in the country for the first time.

“This is our first time in Zambia and it is also the first time that we are seeing the Victoria Falls and I must say that I am really amazed by what I have seen here today. It is simply beautiful,” adds Mr Morrison.

The couple which was staying in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, said they enjoyed the view from the Zambian side because it was wetter and had a closer view than the Zimbabwean side. “We got wetter than we thought and we are glad to have viewed it from both sides. This view here is better because you get the noise more here than from the other side,” says Mr Morrison.

They were not the only ones at the falls. Australian Ben Lupu, a flight attendant at Virgin Airlines was equally thrilled to view the Victoria Falls. He too was seeing it for the first time. “It is very powerful, beautiful, and definitely not dry,” he says. “It is very wet and I would definitely encourage people to come and see it for themselves.”

Mr Lupu was also charmed by Zambia’s hospitality. “The people here are very friendly and happy people. They are always smiling,” he says. Zambia is the fifth Southern Africa country he has been to.

Make no mistake though, even local tourists have also been trooping to the Victoria Falls. One such tourist being Emmanuel Mukuka and his family from Lusaka.

Mr Mukuka having seen the falls countless times, it was his daughter Mary’s first time - and she was impressed. “This is amazing,” she says. Mr Mukuka said what prompted him to take his family there was the news that there was no water at the falls - albeit he wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

“We were not carried aback by the reports. In fact, it is the reports that somehow prompted me to undertake this trip,” says Mr Mukuka who was in the company of his wife and two daughters. I would like to do it again, because this is a memorable moment and experience for me,” says Mr Mukuka’s daughter Mary.

Susana Manas, 35, is a Portuguese biologist, who, like all the others, was at Victoria Falls to appreciate its beauty.  She was left amused and had lots of praises to describe it. “It’s beautiful, it’s huge, it’s magnificent,” she says. “When I was coming here, I wasn’t expecting to find this much water because of the stories I read online about it. I have viewed it from both sides and I am short of words to describe it, it’s simply beautiful,” she says.

Ms Manas says people should find time to visit the Victoria Falls and see for themselves as opposed to believing what they read. “As for me, I recommend it more to people,” she says.

Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko on her recent visit to the country visited the falls. She was also impressed. She said the world heritage site and one of the seven natural wonders of the world reflects rare natural beauty.

“It is no accident that UNESCO considers the Victoria Falls as a world heritage site. It is hard to describe what we feel when we see this miraculous site. And I am sure that following the visit of our delegation, more and more Russian tourists will also come to see this wonderful site,” she said in an interview.

She was visibly awed at the sight of the falling water and said the natural beauty of the falls is complemented by the “amazing” hospitality of Zambians. Mrs Matvienko who was partially wet from the water spray at the falls, later signed the visitors’ book at the Victoria Falls exit in Russian which interprets as follows: “It's a true wonder of the world. A great sight, a treasure of Zambia and the planet! I am glad to have the opportunity to see it.”

Around November and December, data from the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) showed water flow at its lowest since 1995, and well under the long-term average. President Edgar Lungu called it “a stark reminder of what climate change is doing to our environment”.

Scientists are cautious about categorically blaming climate change for the different facets of the falls. 

What is apparent is that there are always seasonal variations in water levels at the Victoria Falls.

Harald Kling, a hydrologist at engineering firm Poyry and a Zambezi River staffer says, “Sometimes it’s difficult to say this is because of climate change because droughts have always occurred”. “If they become more frequent, then you can start saying: OK, this may be climate change.”

He said early climate models had predicted more frequent dry years in the Zambezi basin, but that “what was surprising was that it [drought] has been so frequent” – the last drought was only three years ago. As the river got hotter, 437m cubic metres of water were evaporating every second.

Most tourists that visited the falls from October to January stared into a mostly dry chasm normally gushing with white water - a phenomenon that is not strange, according to Victoria Falls site manager, John Zulu.

He says Victoria is the only falls in the world with two faces. “This falls has two faces and we have packaged the activities as such, to cater for both faces.” He says it is during the dry season that geologists like to visit the falls to not only admire the rock formation, but also conduct geological studies.

“There is nothing wrong. What we should, however, do is to market these two faces because each face comes with its own activities,” he said in an interview recently.

The high water season runs from the second week of December to August, whereas the low water season at the falls is from September to December with the climax being April and May.

This article was also published in the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper.