Scientist Blame Climate Change For Drying of Amazon River Amid Drought

The Amazon River’s two major tributaries have recorded a significant reduction in their depth, leaving the riverside communities stranded with limited food and resources. With a month left for the rains to end the disturbance caused by the worst drought, Brazil's Amazon Region has ever faced, the Amazon River’s ecosystem is at risk.

The Civil Defence Agency reported that The Solimoes, one of the two largest tributaries of the Amazon River, have recorded a record low depth of 3 metres at Manacapuru, 100 km away from the State Capital Manaus, where the Mighty Amazon River starts. Compared to last year’s record of 11 metres, this drastic dip in river depth has alarmed the entire region.

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The most affected are people who reside near the river basin and depend on the river for resources and transportation. For many riverside communities and Indigenous tribes, fishing is the source of protein. However, the reduced river depth has pulled fish away from the tributary. The ones left have died due to low tolerance to the extreme heat caused by the drought.

Transportation has also been adversely affected as boats are the only way to travel in the Amazon region. The receding riverbanks are exposing the sandbed, stranding the boats at the shores and forcing people to walk for kilometres just across the river.

Fishless rivers and multiple wildfires caused by the drought have started to deteriorate the ecosystem of the Amazon region. Scientists blame climate change as the cause of the drought. The drought was already drying up the tributary, but the wildfires were heating up the area even more. With a whole month left for the monsoon to arrive, the conditions are said to get worse.