MANACAPURU, Brazil (Reuters) – Severe droughts across Brazil’s Amazon rainforest region are drastically altering residents’ lives as mobility is hampered by record-low levels on upper stretches of the Amazon River.
In the town of Manacapuru, near state capital Manaus, the drought has impacted navigation on the Solimoes River, which turns into the Amazon River just downstream and is a vital lifeline for transporting all kinds of goods in and out of the town.
Boats stranded on sandbanks have become a common sight, hindering the transport of local goods such as fish, bananas, and cassava, as well as disrupting the logistics for bringing in basic items like food and water from outside.
“We anchored the boat here, and it was stuck on dry land the next day. We had no way to move it,” said fisherman Josue Oliveira.
Calling the situation critical, fisherman Francisco da Silva noted that the water has already started to turn green, a sign it may soon become unsafe to drink.
“We’ll have to drink it anyway,” he said, adding that getting supplies from other areas will no longer be possible with the river drying up. “Nothing will get through.”
According to the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden), the current drought is the most intense and widespread Brazil has experienced since records began in 1950.
A weak rainy season in the north-central region has made the situation worse with rising atmospheric temperatures, and land-use changes that have replaced forest areas with pastures.
On Sunday, Brazil’s Supreme Court authorized lifting spending restrictions on wildfires and drought in the Amazon and Pantanal regions, as the country grapples with the economic impacts of the climate events.
(Reporting by Bruno Kelly, Writing by Marcela Ayres, Editing by Sandra Maler)
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