In June 2024, satellite images taken of the mighty Amazon River and its tributaries captured healthy rushing waters and high water lines. Now, a mere three months later, images of the same locations depict completely dry riverbeds.
What's happening?
The disastrous droughts are the worst that the Amazon has faced since records began in 1950, CNN reported, and they are "upending lives, stranding boats, and threatening endangered dolphins."
Shocking photos capture the truth of this statement; in one, a barge ship is stranded high and dry on sand dunes, where waters used to flow. In another, a dead dolphin lies on the sand; in 2023, this was the fate of more than 200 dolphins.
The Rio Negro, which is one of the Amazon's largest tributary rivers, is currently falling 7 inches a day on average, according to Brazil's weather service. And in some places, like the capital of Brasília, it's been more than 140 days without rain.
CNN quoted André Guimarães, executive director of the nonprofit Amazon Environmental Research Institute, who said, "We are suffering a situation that has never happened before." He described the changes as "absolutely enormous" and voiced concern for the approximately 60% of Brazil whose lives and livelihoods will be affected by them.
Why are these droughts so concerning?
Aside from the immediate dangers to jobs and food supply for many Brazilians, officials are highly worried about the causes behind this unseasonably early and extremely severe drought season.
While the El Niño weather pattern is naturally occurring, its effects were extended and intensified by a warmer Atlantic Ocean, which results from global heating, experts say. The World Weather Attribution calculated that last year's drought in the Amazon Basin was made 30 times more likely to occur due to these changing conditions.
These changes, combined with deforestation, is pushing the area "toward a potential tipping point," CNN quoted Lincoln Alves, a research scientist at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research.
And with drought also comes wildfire risk. Losing more of the Amazon's forest cover would be devastating, as it was holding 56.8 billion metric tons of carbon as of 2022, according to the Associated Press.
What's being done to address this?
While nobody can directly raise water levels, the highest impact on the Amazon's drought will come from governments and large corporations who execute their plans to reduce their planet-warming emissions.
Additionally, working to reforest and regenerate the Amazon Basin will preserve its critical biodiversity, helping stabilize the area.
According to The New York Times, "governments can mitigate the impact of future droughts by decreasing levels of deforestation, restoring forests and helping communities adapt."
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