Amazon River falls to lowest level in over a century amid severe drought

October 19, 2023

48 1 minute read

Boats and houseboats are seen stranded at David's Marina, as the water level at a major river port in Brazil's Amazon rainforest hit its lowest point in at least 121 years on Monday, at the Rio Negro river in Manaus, Brazil October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly

The Amazon River fell to its lowest level in over a century on Monday at the heart of the Brazilian rainforest as a record drought upends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and damages the jungle ecosystem.

Rapidly drying tributaries to the mighty Amazon have left boats stranded, cutting off food and water supplies to remote villages, while high water temperatures are suspected of killing more than 100 endangered river dolphins.

After months without rain, rainforest villager Pedro Mendonca was relieved when a Brazilian NGO delivered supplies to his riverside community near Manaus late last week.

“We have gone three months without rain here in our community,” said Mendonca, who lives in Santa Helena do Ingles, west of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state. “It is much hotter than past droughts.”

Some areas of the Amazon have seen the least rain from July to September since 1980, according to the Brazilian government disaster alert center, Cemaden.

Brazil’s Science Ministry blames the drought on this year’s onset of the El Nino climate phenomenon, which is driving extreme weather patterns globally.

The drought has affected 481,000 people as of Monday, according to the civil defence agency in the state of Amazonas.