Bolivia’s second largest lake, Lake Poopo, has officially dried up.

Thousands of people in the region may have lost their livelihoods due to the lake’s disappearance, the Associated Press reports. The lake's remains are surrounded by upturned fishing boats and dried nets.

Lake Poopo has dried up in the past, but scientists now say this time the lake may never recover.

According to Dirk Hoffman, a German glaciologist who tracks how rising temperatures have sped up glacial melting in Bolivia, the fate of the lake is a sign of what is to come. "This is a picture of the future of climate change," said Hoffman.

NASA informs that during a typical year, rainfall during Bolivia's wet season, which starts in December to about March, resupplies the lake. Unfortunately, a drought has persisted throughout this year’s rainy season. The lack of rain coupled with water diversion due to local agriculture has turned the lake into an arid wasteland.

According to the Oruro governor's office, at least 3,250 people have received some humanitarian aid due to the drying of the lake.

Regional Gov. Victor Hugo Vasquez says Lake Poopo is now down to 2 percent of its usual water level. Florida Institute of Technology biologist Mark B. Bush says the long-term trend of warming and drying will eventually alter the entire Andean highlands.

Angel Flores, the leader of a local group that has tried to save Lake Poopo, blames authorities for ignoring the obvious warnings signs. "Something could have been done to prevent the disaster,” says Flores, “Mining companies have been diverting water since 1982."

Bolivian leader Evo Morales has tried be remain optimistic about the lake. "My father told me about crossing the lake on a bicycle once when it dried up," he recently said after returning from a climate conference in Paris.

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing the azure mirror of Poopo again," said Milton Perez, a Universidad Tecnica researcher.

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