The Amazon Region is experiencing one of the worst droughts in its history. A combination of extreme weather events linked to the warming of the waters in the Pacific and North Atlantic oceans has significantly reduced rainfall throughout the region, and the area's rivers are approaching their lowest levels on record. The conditions threaten the livelihoods of approximately 200,000 people, and Brazilian officials say more than half a million people could be at risk of isolation and supply shortages in communities only accessible by rivers, some of which have already dried up. Yan Boechat travels to the region to report on the situation for VOA.
Brazil's Amazon Region Faces Devastating Drought
- By Yan Boechat
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Areas that were historically flooded on the banks of the main rivers of the Amazon are completely dry, like this lake in Iranduba, Oct. 4, 2023
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A barge loaded with gas cylinders, a fuel transport truck, and its tugboat became stuck in the mud after the waters of the Rio Negro receded dozens of meters in recent weeks in Manau, Oct. 3, 2023.
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A floating restaurant is stranded in a dried-up lake on the outskirts of Manaus, Oct. 3, 2023.
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The waters of the Amazonian rivers have dropped rapidly, and many boats are stranded in the mud and the dry riverbed in Manaus, Oct. 3, 2023.
