More blackouts and low industrial production are imminent in Zimbabwe as the output from a major source of hydro electric power drops to critical levels, AllAfrica reported.

Lake Kariba is a huge man-made reservoir which lies along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Harnessing the might of the Zambezi River, the Kariba dam was built to deliver more than 800 megawatts of hydroelectric power, more than half of Zimbabwe’s daily peak demand.

But over the last few months, output from the generators has fallen to half of that figure. This is because the water level in the dam is too low.

Western investors had started to show renewed interest in the country, but erratic power supplies are likely to chase them away.

Changing weather patterns have already adversely affected inflows into major dams like Lake Kariba. The current El Nino is expected to make things worse. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) considers the Zambezi River basin as one at risk from climate change.