It’s raining, but not enough after the Amazon drought

MANAUS, Brazil. Dark clouds rumble over the tiny Amazon River of Nossa Senhora do Livramento.

After two years of devastating drought, you’d think the residents of this parched and isolated town of about 350 families would be delighted. Many simply shrug their shoulders, looking at the torrential but short-lived downpour. Some liken it to the burst of energy a patient might experience minutes before death.

Such pessimism is understandable given the devastation experienced by this and hundreds of other communities throughout the Amazon. Millions of inhabitants, who depend on the vast waterways for almost everything, remained on the high ground.

In more than 100 years of monitoring of river levels, the mighty Amazon and major tributaries of the world’s largest river system have never seen so little rainfall. In October, the Rio Negro fell to its lowest point levels since records were first kept in 1902.

And now that the annual dry season is winding down, there is growing concern about whether the rains will come and bring enough water to fill the dry riverways.

Renato Senna, Climatologist INPA, Brazil National Institute for the Study of the Amazon says two years of unprecedented drought will be difficult to overcome in just one rainy season. “We thought 2023 was bad, but 2024 was much worse,” he says.

Climate change and increased deforestation are the main causes of drought. Also, El Niño weather, which warms the waters of the Pacific Ocean off South America, has been much stronger and longer this year, adding even more warmth to the Amazon.

The rate at which the Amazon is drying up is frightening and much faster than anyone predicted,” says Senna. In some parts of the Amazon, the annual dry season is a month longer than it was in the 1970s, according to the data. researchers.

Senna says it’s too early to predict if the future holds La Niña, wet weather events will be stronger than usual and sufficient to restore river levels.

Thirty-two-year-old Joelson dos Santos, who lives in Nossa Senhora do Livramento, has hope. “God willing, everything will be back to normal. The drought was so bad,” he says. The city is about a 30-minute boat ride up the Rio Negro from the sprawling Amazon city of Manaus.

Dos Santos stands on the now fragile banks of a large stream where boats used to be able to reach the main square of Nossa Senhora do Livramento. The creek bed has dried up with tall bright green grass covering the once submerged bottom. A few shallow boats are tied far away to the trees.

Since the river and creek dried up, he didn’t have much construction or electrical work to do. Instead, it hauls goods into town from the community’s wharf, which had to be moved further downriver to where the new shoreline now sits.

Now it’s a 20-30 minute walk to the city. First crossing the newly opened beach and then over a well-worn dried path winding through tall trees that were once almost submerged by the river.

As community leader Paulo Roberto Ferreira da Silva walks the trail, he points to white marks more than 13 feet above his head in the trees where the water line used to be. “It was the best fishing ever,” he says. He is also waiting for new rains.

With so little rain, the Amazon River and its tributaries created large beaches and huge sandbars, cutting off entire communities. In the state of Amazonas, where there are no major roads, the river is vital for transporting everything from food and drinking water to all kinds of trade. More than 60 municipalities have declared a state of emergency due to the drought.

The boat’s operator, João Aroldu Vieira, lives outside the capital city of Manaus. He maneuvers his small rig around a huge sandbar that has emerged at the popular spot where the black waters of the Rio Negro meet the pale green Amazon River. The two don’t mix.

He says watching the water disappear is sad. “The land just keeps growing and the river isn’t big enough for us to move.” His community was badly affected by the drought.

Officials are dredging part of the Amazon to keep waterways open increased the number of ferries that cross rivers to access limited highways between major cities.

Iser Lazaretti is waiting on a barge to cross the Rio Negro to Manaus, where he will find one of the few roads available to transport his cargo of steel wires.

He prefers to go down the river on a barge when it is full and can handle larger loads. “It’s better, you don’t wear your truck out, there’s no wear and tear,” he said. He had recently lost an axle on the muddy, bumpy roads of the Amazon, not to mention the fatigue of long solo trips.

The drought has also had a negative impact on food prices. At Manaus’ giant fish market, merchant Dantas Abreu sells one of the Amazon’s largest fish, the piraruca. He says his expenses have jumped about 25 percent. According to his estimates, he lost about half of his customers.

“I’m 50 years old and I’ve never seen two droughts like this before,” he said. He blames deforestation. He has two children and is worried about their future because of the worsening weather.

“We feel it now, but our children will feel it much more,” he said.

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