Current:Home > ScamsBrazil’s Amazon rainforest faces a severe drought that may affect around 500,000 people-LoTradeCoin
Brazil’s Amazon rainforest faces a severe drought that may affect around 500,000 people
View Date:2024-12-24 00:02:06
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is facing a severe drought that may affect around 500,000 people by the end of the year, authorities said Tuesday.
Many are already struggling to access essential supplies such as food and water, because the principal means of transportation in the region is waterways, and river levels are historically low. Droughts also impact fishing, a means of subsistence for many riverside communities.
Amazonas state declared an environmental emergency two weeks ago in response to the prolonged drought and launched a response plan valued at $20 million. Authorities will also distribute food and water supplies as well as personal hygiene kits, the state’s civil defense agency said in a statement.
Gov. Wilson Lima was in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, on Tuesday to meet with representatives of the federal government. Lima spoke with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to discuss the drought.
The different levels of government will “coordinate measures in support of the people living in the affected municipalities,” Lima said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.
Fifteen municipalities were in a state of emergency on Tuesday, while 40 others were on a state of alert, the civil defense authority said.
According to the port of Manaus, which monitors water levels, the river stood at 16.7 meters (55 feet) on Tuesday, around six meters (20 feet) below the same day last year. The lowest level of water was recorded on Oct. 24, 2010, when the river dropped to 13.6 meters (about 45 feet).
The drought is forecast to last longer and be more intense because of El Niño climate phenomenon, which inhibits the formation of rain clouds, the civil defense authority said.
Climate change exacerbates droughts by making them more frequent, longer and more severe. Warmer temperatures enhance evaporation, which reduces surface water and dries out soils and vegetation.
veryGood! (29495)
Related
- Bowl projections: SEC teams joins College Football Playoff field
- WEOWNCOIN︱Driving Financial Revolution
- U.K. to charge 5 people suspected of spying for Russia with conspiracy to conduct espionage
- U.K. to charge 5 people suspected of spying for Russia with conspiracy to conduct espionage
- Brian Kelly asks question we're all wondering after Alabama whips LSU, but how to answer?
- Retiring Megan Rapinoe didn't just change the game with the USWNT. She changed the world.
- On the run for decades, convicted Mafia boss Messina Denaro dies in hospital months after capture
- Misery Index message for Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin: Maybe troll less, coach more
- Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says he was detained in airport over being ‘disoriented’
- India had been riding a geopolitical high. But it comes to the UN with a mess on its hands
Ranking
- New York nursing home operator accused of neglect settles with state for $45M
- Taylor Swift turns out to see Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs play Chicago Bears
- Miami Dolphins stop short of NFL scoring record with 70-point outburst – and fans boo
- WEOWNCOIN: The Security of Cryptocurrency and Digital Identity Verification
- NBPA reaches Kyle Singler’s family after cryptic Instagram video draws concern
- A fire in a commercial building south of Benin’s capital killed at least 35 people
- Judge asked to decide if Trump property valuations were fraud or genius
- Rep. Andy Kim announces bid for Robert Menendez's Senate seat after New Jersey senator's indictment
Recommendation
-
Olivia Munn Randomly Drug Tests John Mulaney After Mini-Intervention
-
Government should pay compensation for secretive Cold War-era testing, St. Louis victims say
-
Gisele Bündchen says her life is 'liberating' after battling destructive thoughts as a model
-
The Secrets of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas' Enduring Love
-
The Surreal Life’s Kim Zolciak Fuels Dating Rumors With Costar Chet Hanks After Kroy Biermann Split
-
Mosquito populations surge in parts of California after tropical storms and triple-digit heat
-
6 dead after train barrels into SUV at Florida railroad crossing
-
Inside Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's Disney-Themed Baby Shower