The Amazon River is showing signs of recovery as many areas refill.
The river was recently threatened by unprecedented fires, droughts, and deforestation, but incoming heavy rainfall could bring the river levels back to normal. While monitoring stations forecast that the Amazon River basin in Brazil remains low, other areas are finding that the heavy rainfall is easing drought conditions.
"It's very good to see that the rivers are returning," Ane Alencar, the science director at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, told Mongabay. "What we don't know yet are the long-term impacts of this severe drought."
Despite the rain being largely beneficial to the river, it can cause flash flooding. Nevertheless, Alencar explained that much rainfall is needed to bring the water back to healthy levels.
Deforestation has become one of the leading causes of environmental degradation in the region, creating the drought conditions that have gripped Indigenous tribes, river transportation, and food resources in the area.
Indigenous children have been forced to drink water contaminated with mercury, and fish have experienced a mass die-off due to high water temperatures. Some studies have shown just how much deforestation combined with drought conditions can impact the environment in the Amazon, which is responsible for about 6% of land oxygen.
Professor David Galbraith, a researcher at the University of Leeds in the U.K. who studied the impacts of drought on trees, explained in a press release: "The Amazon is threatened by multiple stressors, including deforestation and climate. Understanding the stress limits that these forests can withstand is a major scientific challenge. Our study provides new insights into the limits of forest resistance to one major stressor — drought."
With the drought easing, river transportation and healthy water could return to the region, producing healthier conditions for Indigenous people.
"Anything is possible. The climate is very unstable, and the tendency is for these events to become more frequent and intense," Alencar told Mongabay. "Unfortunately, it's always the most vulnerable communities that are hardest hit."
Early signs of recovery, at least, show a hopeful trend.
🗣️ Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty?
🔘 Definitely 👍
🔘 Only in some areas ☝️
🔘 No way 👎
🔘 I'm not sure 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
