A floating town is trapped on a dry lakebed as the Amazon suffers from a severe drought.
Due to a severe drought, residents in Brazil’s Amazon are currently unable to acquire food, clean water, or fuel, leaving a floating community stranded on a lakebed.
Boats and floating structures are now marooned in the mud in Lake Puraquequara, east of Manaus, the state capital of Amazonas, due to dramatically declining water levels.
It is the most recent illustration of the terrible effects of heat and drought on this region of Brazil; just this month, more than 100 river dolphins died after washing ashore due to soaring water temperatures; and authorities predict things will only get worse.
The Rio Negro river system, which includes Lake Puraquequara, has been around record-low since the end of September, according to the state’s civil defense agency. According to a spokeswoman for the authority, “declining water levels are having a profound impact.”
In an effort to access water, some locals have resorted to digging wells in the fractured lakebed.
“We have no consumers in our stores. We are cut off; boats cannot enter or exit the lake,” Isaac Rodrigues, a local, told Reuters. “Until God provides us water, we’re going to stay here.
According to the state’s civil defense office, the Rio Negro river system, which includes Lake Puraquequara, has been near record-low levels since the end of September. The authority’s spokesperson said that “declining water levels are having a profound impact.”
Some communities have taken to digging wells in the cracked lakebed in an effort to acquire water.
“There are no shoppers in any of our stores. Boats are unable to enter or leave the lake, leaving us cut off, a local named Isaac Rodrigues told Reuters. “We’re going to stay here until God gives us water.
Governor Wilson Lima of Amazonas issued a state of emergency declaration and a list of relief efforts, including food distribution to people most impacted by the drought, in late September.
At the time, he stated in a statement, “There are many people already experiencing problems accessing food, food security, drinking water, and other crucial inputs.
In the state’s rivers, the drought is also wreaking havoc on the fauna.
The extraordinary deaths of more than 100 dolphins in Lake Tefé, west of Manaus, at the beginning of October are thought to have been caused by the searingly hot water temperatures, according to scientists.
The institute stated in comments carried by CNN affiliate CNN Brasil that “it is still too early to determine the cause of this extreme event, but according to our experts, it is definitely connected to the drought period and high temperatures in Lake Tefé, in which some points are exceeding 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit).
The Amazon is currently in its dry season, but El Nio, a natural climate pattern that develops in the tropical Pacific Ocean and affects weather all around the world, has made the drought worse.
On October 6, 2023, Lake Puraquequara will be located in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. In the state of Amazonas, the drought has caused the rivers to dry up, making transport between cities challenging.
El Nio is caused by a long-term trend of global warming, which makes extreme weather events like drought and heat waves more often and more severe.
As the continent transitions from winter into spring, large portions of South America, particularly Brazil, have been engulfed in lethal heat.
According to a study released on Tuesday by the World Weather Attribution effort, this heat in August and September, when Brazil witnessed temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), was at least 100 times more likely due to the human-caused climate disaster.