i n Manaus, Brazil, communities reliant on the waterways of the Amazon rainforest are facing a dire situation. They are left stranded without access to fuel, food, or clean water.The devastating consequences of this extreme drought are evident as dozens of river dolphins have perished and washed up on the shore, while thousands of dead fish float on the water's surface.
These distressing scenes offer a glimpse into the initial impacts of the severe drought currently gripping Brazil's Amazon region. This historically low water level has left hundreds of thousands of people and wildlife struggling, and experts are warning that this drought could persist until early 2024, potentially exacerbating these issues.
Raimundo Silva do Carmo, a 67-year-old fisherman, is among those grappling with the crisis. He relies on fishing for his livelihood but is now struggling to find even basic water sources. Similar to many rural residents in the Amazon, do Carmo usually collects water directly from the region's abundant waterways. However, the situation has deteriorated to the point where he has had to make repeated trips to draw water from a well in the parched bed of Lake Puraquequara, located to the east of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state.
"Dire Drought in Brazil's Amazon Disrupts Lives and Threatens Freshwater Supply"
Joaquim Mendes da Silva, a 73-year-old ship carpenter residing by the same lake for 43 years, expressed that this drought is the most severe he can remember. The dwindling water levels have made it impossible for children in the area to attend school by river, causing them to stop going a month ago.
CEMADEN, Brazil's disaster warning center, reported that eight Brazilian states have experienced the lowest rainfall levels from July to September in over four decades. This drought has impacted most of the major rivers in the Amazon, the world's largest basin, which provides a significant portion of the planet's fresh water, accounting for approximately 20%.
By Friday, 42 out of the 62 municipalities in Amazonas had officially declared a state of emergency. The drought has already impacted approximately 250,000 individuals, and this number could potentially double by the end of the year, as reported by the state's civil defense authority.
“It’s dreadful work, even more so when the sun is hot,” do Carmo told The Associated Press. “We use the water to drink, to bathe, to cook. Without water, there is no life.”
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Dire Conditions in Amazon's Auati-Parana Reserve as Drought Impacts Riverine Communities
In the Auati-Parana Extractive Reserve, situated approximately 450 miles to the west of Lake Puraquequara, the struggle for survival intensifies for more than 300 riverine families. Their access to food and essential supplies has been severely hindered, as only small canoes with limited cargo capacity can navigate the journey to the nearest city. Navigating through shallow waters has extended travel time from nine hours to 14.
Furthermore, the canals leading to the lakes where they typically fish for pirarucu, the Amazon's largest fish and their primary source of income, have dried up. Transporting fish that can weigh up to 200 kilograms (about 440 pounds) along trails would be an exceptionally challenging and arduous task.
Dry spells are part of the Amazon’s cyclical weather pattern, with lighter rainfall from May to October for most of the rainforest. That already low rainfall is being further reduced this year by two climate phenomena: El Niño — the natural warming of surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific region — and the warming of northern tropical Atlantic Ocean waters, said Ana Paula Cunha, a CEMADEN researcher.
