Life in Drought: Challenges and Local Adaptations to the Climate Crisis in Petorca, Chile

Petorca is a rural commune located in the Valparaíso Region in central Chile. This town is known for its arid climate, which has been significantly exacerbated by an ongoing water crisis. The region experiences frequent droughts, and water scarcity is a major concern due to limited rainfall, over-extraction of water for agricultural purposes, and environmental changes. While widely recognised as one of the regions hardest hit by the climate crisis, the experiences of Petorca’s residents reveal a more intricate, complex reality than commonly acknowledged.

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Petorca in 2024, this study uncovers how water shortages have disrupted multiple aspects of domestic life, complicating access to essential resources and affecting the sustainability of life. Nevertheless, we examine the various adaptation strategies that residents have devised to cope with water scarcity and other effects of the climate crisis in their daily lives, identifying multiple ways in which residents reuse water in their domestic spaces. These adaptive practices have become so deeply embedded in their routines that water scarcity is not perceived as an urgent or critical issue in their daily lives.

We further observe that, paradoxically, in a community long adapted to drought, recent rainfall has introduced unexpected challenges. Schools have closed due to inadequate infrastructure, roads are blocked by floods, and rising river levels disrupt school transportation. These events highlight the broader impacts of the climate crisis on the region and underscore the importance of flexible and adaptive strategies to extreme weather events, as focusing solely on drought limits the long-term resilience of this population.

Overall, this study offers a nuanced perspective on Petorca, highlighting residents’ struggle with drought and adaptation strategies, identifying the multifaceted effects and challenges of living the climate crisis.