Every person in Brazil who relies on the Amazon and the tributaries of it earn a livingwhether it’s family farmers like Lira to the owners of restaurant chains along the river and even executives of multinational companies -are reeling from the most severe drought in the area’s history. The stress is adding to the already weak well-being of the Amazon forest.

Experts believe that the cause is an El Nino weather phenomenon combined with the warming of the Atlantic Ocean, likely aggravated by the current climate crises. The experts say that severe dry spells across the Amazon as well as other extreme weather conditions will probably grow and get more severe due to rising temperatures globally and add stress to one of the most difficult business environments.

The drought directly impacted the lives of 600,000 people living within Amazonas state. In addition, all of the 62 cities in it declare a states emergency. About four times as large as California, Amazonas covers an approximately 600,000 square kilometers, the majority of which can only be reached by boat or plane.

Brazil’s government announced measures in order to fight the drought in the beginning of October. with the use of 138 million dollars ($28 millions) of federal money for rid the lower parts of the Amazon River, near Manaus as well as the river’s mouth, Rio Madeira, a major waterway.

Source: bnnbloomberg.ca