Brazil: drought in the Amazon could be historic and last until January

The actual drought in the Amazonthe largest reserve of fresh water in the world but where the rivers are at minimum levels, huge areas isolated due to navigability difficulties and dozens of municipalities on alert, could be historic and extend until January, official sources predict. Brazil.

The forecast was released this Saturday by the Center for Monitoring of Alerts and Natural Disasters (Cemaden), an organization linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil and which considers that the effects of the El Niño Phenomenon on the climate in the region this year They will be more severe than in 2015 and 2016, when the Amazon experienced a similar crisis.

Although the drought season in the region has just begun, the drop in the level of the Amazon rivers to minimum levels is already harming navigation, fishing, agriculture, environmental balance and the supply of water, food and fuel in numerous municipalities. .

In recent days, unprecedented fish deaths have also been recorded, including at least 110 endangered river dolphins in the Tefé River, apparently caused by drought, record temperatures in the region and increased acidity in the rivers. .

”It is possible that this drought situation will worsen until the months of December and January and that it will only begin to improve in March or April 2024 (when the drought period is expected to begin). rains),” says the coordinator of studies on droughts and agrometeorology at Cemaden, Ana Paula Cunha.

For the specialist, the reduction in the flow of Amazonian rivers is common at this time of year due to reduced rainfall, but the El Niño phenomenon, which inhibits cloud formation, has aggravated the situation and threatens to make it more severe and prolonged.

The situation has also been aggravated by the warming of the tropical Atlantic, by the sharp increase in forest fires in the Amazon and by the record temperatures of recent days in the region.

Cemaden predicts that some rivers this year will have a flow lower than the historical average, among which the Amazon itself and others strategic for the region such as Madeira, Juruá, Purus and Xingu.

Likewise, an increase in sandbanks is expected, increasingly extensive, like those that currently prevent ships from accessing the port of Manaus, the largest city in the region. Amazonwhich threatens not only navigation but also fishing.

”This year the drought could be as intense as that of 2015-2016 or even exceed it and become historic,” says Cunha.

With 55 of its 62 municipalities affected by severe drought, the governorate of Amazonthe largest state in the region, declared an emergency situation on Friday for an initial period of 180 days.

”There are many people already with difficulties in accessing food, drinking water and other important supplies.

We have difficulties precisely because we depend on the rivers to transport aid,” said the governor of AmazonWilson Lima.

According to regional authorities, the worsening of the drought may affect nearly 500,000 people in this state alone, where 59 of its 62 municipalities depend on transportation by rivers.

(With EFE information)