Residents of the world’s highest settlement La Rinconada in the Peruvian Andes face a unique set of challenges.
Worldwide, more than 80 million people live at an altitude of at least 2,500 m above sea level, mainly in South America, Central Asia and East Africa. Some of the world’s highest permanent settlements include Wenquan in Qinghai Province, China (4,870 m) and Korzok in India (4,572 m) above sea level. However, there is a settlement higher than both of these places. Located in the Andes in Peru is a town nicknamed “Devil’s Paradise”. The town’s official name is La Rinconada, and its 50,000 residents live at an altitude of 4,900 to 5,200 meters above sea level, making it the highest permanent settlement on Earth, according to Live Science.
Life in La Rinconada is extremely difficult, with no running water, sewer system or garbage disposal. Food is imported from lower altitudes and electricity was only installed in the town in 2000. The town is famous for its gold mining, which began as a temporary mining settlement more than a year ago. 60 years. But the price for mining gold is that residents must live in extreme conditions with oxygen pressure half that at sea level.
If you weren’t born at high altitude and are used to traveling in high altitudes like La Rinconada, one of the first changes you’ll notice is increased breathing and heart rate. That’s because there is less oxygen in the air, so the lungs and heart need to work harder to nourish tissues. “When you’re at an altitude of about 4,500 meters, the same breath you experience at sea level only contains about 40 percent oxygen molecules, which is a lot of pressure,” said Cynthia Beall, professor emeritus of anthropology at Case Western College of Conservation in Ohio, said.
First, the proportion of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen in the blood, will decrease. The higher the altitude, the stronger all the reactions. Some people may develop a syndrome called acute mountain sickness (AMS) as the body tries to adapt to lower oxygen levels. This can cause symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, vomiting and loss of appetite.
Normally, after about 1 – 2 weeks at high altitude, a person’s heart rate and breathing rate will decrease slightly because the body begins to produce more red blood cells and hemoglobin to compensate for the low amount of oxygen in the air. gas. However, people in La Rinconada seem to have adapted to the low oxygen environment in many ways. “There is evidence from around the world that lung volume increases in people exposed to high altitudes, especially before adolescence,” Beall said.
For example, people living in the Andes often have high blood hemoglobin levels. While this allows them to carry more oxygen in their blood, it also makes them susceptible to a syndrome called chronic mountain sickness (CMS), which occurs when the body produces too many red blood cells. CMS can occur in people living at altitudes above 3,050 m for months or years, causing symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath and pain. An estimated 1 in 4 people in La Rinconada have CMS. The best way to treat CMS is to move to lower altitudes, according to Tatum Simonson, associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
However, this is not a viable solution for people making a living in the area. Regular phlebotomy and taking a drug called acetazolamide, which reduces red blood cell production, may help patients with CMS, although researchers are unclear about the long-term safety and effectiveness of these measures. long.