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World’s biggest man-made lake is 139 miles wide, took 5 years to fill | World | News
Spanning the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, Lake Kariba is the world’s largest man-made lake by volume – a colossal body of water that has shaped the region’s environment, economy and energy production since its creation over six decades ago. Built in the late 1950s, it remains a vital source of hydroelectric power and water in southern Africa, however, its future is increasingly at risk.
Created after the construction of the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River, the lake stretches more than 139 miles in length and reaches up to 25 miles wide. At full capacity, it holds around 44 cubic miles of water – equivalent to about 73.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools – and covers nearly 2,150 square miles. With such a vast size, it’s no wonder that it took an incredible five years to fill, between 1958 and 1963. It is the world’s largest man-made reservoir by volume – four times larger than China’s Three Gorges Dam.
The enormous mass of water is believed to have caused induced seismicity in the seismically active region, with more than 20 earthquakes of a magnitude of five or above on the Richter scale being recorded.
Kariba Dam, completed in 1959, is one of the most significant engineering projects in Africa’s history. It supplies electricity to millions through two major power stations, Kariba North in Zambia and Kariba South in Zimbabwe, with a combined capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts. This is enough to power about 1.6 million average homes in developed countries, and as many as three million in countries in Africa with lower average usage.
While the lake brought electricity and development, it came at a cost. During the valley’s flooding, an estimated 57,000 people, mostly from the Tonga ethnic group, were displaced. Homes and ancestral lands were lost, and many communities were resettled with little support.
At the same time, the rising waters trapped thousands of animals. In response, a rescue mission known as Operation Noah was launched between 1958 and 1964. More than 6,000 animals, including elephants, antelope and big cats, were relocated to nearby game reserves and national parks.
Over time, Lake Kariba developed a thriving ecosystem. The waters are now home to various fish species, including kapenta and tigerfish, while crocodiles and hippos are common in shallow areas. The surrounding areas attract elephants, buffalo and predators such as lions and leopards. The lake also supports a busy fishing industry and attracts tourists for boat safaris, fishing trips and wildlife watching, particularly near Zimbabwe’s Matusadona National Park.
Despite its impressive size, Lake Kariba has struggled in recent years due to prolonged droughts. In 2024, water levels dropped to critical lows, forcing major reductions in electricity generation. Some towns and cities in Zambia and Zimbabwe faced blackouts lasting up to 21 hours a day. Authorities blamed the situation on El Niño – the warming of sea surfaces temperatures every few years – and changing climate patterns, warning that the region’s overreliance on hydropower has become unsustainable.
To reduce dependence on the dam, Zimbabwe has begun work on a floating solar farm on Lake Kariba. The first phase will generate 250 megawatts, with plans to scale up to 1,000 megawatts. Officials say the project should help to stabilize the national grid.
One of the 17 American passengers evacuated from a cruise ship in the Canary Islands has tested positive for the hantavirus but is not displaying any symptoms, US health officials confirmed late on Sunday.
The charter flight was carrying 17 Americans who had been evacuated from the MV Hondius following its arrival in Tenerife, the largest island in the Spanish archipelago situated off the West African coast. The aircraft was expected to touch down in Omaha, Nebraska, in the early hours of Monday.
The Americans were to be initially flown to the University of Nebraska, which operates a federally funded quarantine facility, in order to determine whether they had been in close contact with any symptomatic individuals and to evaluate their risk of transmitting the virus.
“One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring. The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms,” said Kayla Thomas, a spokesperson for The Nebraska Medical Center.
The MV Hondius docked in Tenerife on Sunday morning, with Spanish authorities beginning the evacuation of the cruise liner by nationality, ferrying passengers to port aboard smaller vessels.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated its goal was to complete the full evacuation of the ship, with the exception of 30 crew members remaining on board, by 7pm on Monday.
Travellers were told to leave their belongings on board and were only allowed to carry a small bag containing essential items such as their phone and passport.
Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed late last night on X: “Most passengers and crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship successfully disembarked today.”
British nationals returning to the UK face a 45-day self-isolation period and will be barred from using public transport to travel home.
Once the isolation period has concluded, public health officials will assess whether passengers are able to self-isolate at home or at a suitable alternative location, depending on their individual living arrangements.
In a post on X, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Thank you to all those who worked around the clock to get passengers from MV Hondius back to the UK by special flight this evening with public health protections in place.
“The UK has worked with Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and the WHO to coordinate safe returns.”
The bodies of two tourists missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia have been discovered holding each other.
The bodies were recovered during a challenging operation hampered by treacherous terrain and heavy rainfall, according to Indonesia’s rescue agency head, Iwan Ramdani.
The bodies have been transported to a local hospital where they will undergo post-mortem examinations.
The volcano has continued its activity and has been persistently releasing ash since Friday, further complicating the evacuation efforts.
According to reports, debris was propelled as high as six miles into the atmosphere at its peak.
Despite warnings circulated across social media, several individuals “remain determined to climb, driven by the desire to create online content,” said North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu on Friday.
He added: “They were aware that climbing was prohibited as the mountain is a restricted zone due to its high alert status, but insisted on going ahead.”
A search operation conducted on Sunday morning deployed approximately 150 personnel using thermal drones to scan around the mountain’s crater rim.
It was confirmed on Saturday that one missing Indonesian hiker had perished, while 17 people, including seven Singaporeans and 10 Indonesians, survived.
The country’s Foreign Ministry said that the seven rescued will return to Singapore on Sunday.
It remains unclear when the bodies of those found deceased will be repatriated. Indonesia’s volcanology agency reported four additional eruptions on Sunday, with one blast propelling ash nearly a mile into the sky.
All activity has been prohibited within a 2.5-mile radius of the crater, as Mount Dukono has been placed on the third-highest alert level.
Australia hosted Nigel Farage previously, and his words may have influenced the country today (Image: Getty)
The political establishment in Australia has been shaken by a by-election result that locals are calling a “bloodbath” — delivered by the woman many regard as the country’s equivalent of Nigel Farage.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson — a Right-wing populist who has spent three decades on the fringes of Australian politics — declared she would “take the country back” through an end to mass migration after her party broke into the lower house for the first time in its history.
The winning candidate, farmer David Farley, secured 39 per cent of the vote in Farrer, a rural New South Wales constituency that had not left the Liberal-National fold since 1949. The result promises a political earthquake in a country long dominated by orthodox parties.
A second One Nation figure sits in the lower house, though he crossed the floor from the National Party last year rather than being elected under the One Nation banner.
Hanson declared the result sent a clear message to her rivals. “What it shows is that the coalition can’t beat One Nation. They’ll have to join them. There’s no future coalition government, I think, without One Nation in it.”
Read more: Reform results ‘exceeding anything’ as deadline for Tory defection ‘passed’
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How does Pauline Hanson compare to Nigel Farage?
According to the Telegraph, Australian commentators have drawn direct comparisons with Reform UK’s rise in Britain, suggesting One Nation may be approaching a similar breakthrough moment. Hanson and Farage share more than political style — both have built movements on grievances about immigration and living costs that establishment parties failed to address.
Hanson’s personal approval ratings have climbed above those of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Her admiration for Trump has remained undimmed even as his trade policies have strained relations with Canberra. She appeared at CPAC last year at Mar-a-Lago, promising to transplant his political programme to Australian soil.
Known to some as “Dancin’ Pauline,” she marked the victory with a dance on stage as supporters in blue Make Australia Great Again hats cheered her on.
“We’re coming after those other seats,” she said, with an eye on the 2028 federal elections. “You are not going to be the forgotten people any more. We are proud Australians. We want our country back and that’s what One Nation is about.”
Hanson has held a Queensland Senate seat since 2016 sitting alongside three other One Nation members (Image: Getty)
Who is Pauline Hanson?
Now 71, Hanson has held a Queensland Senate seat since 2016, sitting alongside three other One Nation members in the upper house. She has courted controversy throughout her political career.
Her debut parliamentary address three decades ago caused immediate outrage with a warning that Australia faced being “swamped” by Muslims and Asians. She has been a persistent critic of public recognition for the rights of Aboriginal Australians and has campaigned against what she describes as political correctness.
Her decision last year to enter parliament wearing a burka — a deliberate provocation in support of her campaign to ban the garment — earned her a seven-day suspension and a censure motion passed by 55 votes to five, with opponents branding her racist and Islamophobic. It was not her first such act — she pulled the same stunt in 2017, on both occasions attracting global media attention.
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