Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as a lot as 90%: report

The Amazon River has seen its ranges in Colombia diminished by as a lot as 90 %, a authorities company mentioned Thursday, as South America faces a extreme and widespread drought.

The river—the world’s largest by quantity and which additionally flows by means of components of Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname—has been onerous hit by the drought that has seen wildfires unfold throughout the continent.

“The water stage has decreased between 80 and 90 % within the final three months as a result of drought brought on by climate change,” Colombia’s Nationwide Unit for Catastrophe Threat Administration (UNGRD) mentioned in a press release.

The dearth of water was significantly impacting Indigenous communities who depend upon the river for meals and transport, it added.

AFP has noticed boats stranded round Leticia, capital of the southern Amazonas state, in current days, with massive swathes of land uncovered by low water ranges.

The town, close to the borders with Brazil and Peru, is a essential buying and selling submit alongside the Amazon River.

Its residents say that is the worst drought in at the least half a century.

Europe’s Copernicus Ambiance Monitoring Service mentioned this week that wildfire exercise in South America this 12 months has been “markedly above common” particularly within the Amazon area and the Pantanal wetlands.

Fires are burning in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Bolivia.

Ecuador, which relies on hydroelectric power, is going through extreme power shortages from its worst drought in six a long time, and has carried out rolling blackouts and put 20 of its 24 provinces on purple alert.

In Brazil, thick plumes of smoke have clouded main cities equivalent to Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, with fumes at occasions wafting throughout the border to Argentina and Uruguay.

Colombia’s capital Bogota has been rationing municipal water for months.

© 2024 AFP