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Watch: The North’s drought from the air

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Watch footage of low water across parts of the NWT.

Parts of the Northwest Territories are in extreme drought. To understand what that looks like, explore new aerial footage of rivers in affected areas.

The landscape of the NWT’s South Slave region has changed dramatically in the span of just two years.

In the spring of 2022, the town of Hay River flooded. Great Slave Lake was setting records for high water.

Now, the same lake has reached record lows and the Hay River, or what’s left of it, is clearly visible through kilometres of burn area from the 2023 wildfire season, the worst in NWT history.

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Watch the video above for a tour of some areas we looked at.

Below, you can find a range of photos from the air and on the ground that tell the story of how the landscape looks after the 2024 spring melt.

These images were taken at the end of April and start of May this year.

The hamlet of Enterprise. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Hay River passes the hamlet of Enterprise. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Hay River in April 2024. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Hay River near Enterprise. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Alexandra Falls in April 2024. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Alexandra Falls, south of Enterprise. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Kakisa River in April 2024. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Kakisa River. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Buffalo River Bridge. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Buffalo River Bridge between Hay River, Fort Resolution and Fort Smith. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Salt River. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The Salt River south of Fort Smith. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Low water on Yellowknife Bay in early May 2024. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Yellowknife Bay. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The melting Snowcastle with virtually no water around it on May 5, 2024. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The melting Snowcastle with virtually no water around it. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Low water on Yellowknife Bay in early May 2024. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The view from School Draw Avenue to Yellowknife Bay’s houseboats. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio