Rivers reached their most critical monthly level for the second time in September in the Amazon. A map from Wednesday (25) shows the impact of droughts, degradation and increased fires on hydrological risk.
The Rio Negro, in Amazonas, is less than two meters away from its historic drought. On Wednesday morning (25), according to the measurement carried out by the Port of Manaus, the river level was 14.11, less than a meter and a half away from the lowest mark ever recorded, of 12.70, in October 2023.
Comparative material produced by the Satellite Image Analysis and Processing Laboratory (Lapis) shows the hydrological situation in Brazil.
On the maps, the orange and red circles show how, in just a fortnight, the water stress situation in the water sources worsened. In other words, there was a rapid reduction in the volumes of rivers and reservoirs.
In the first image it is possible to see the Amazon region at levels between -1 and -3, on the scale of reduction and increase in levels. Look .
In the second image, recorded on Wednesday, the Jirau reservoir showed a greater reduction, reaching level -2 on the scale. The impact is observed in other locations in South America.
The Arapa reservoir in Peru has reached the lowest level that the satellite can record, representing the drop in water volume as a common phenomenon between Brazil and neighboring countries.
Impact of drought
According to meteorologist Humberto Barbosa, founder of the Lapis Laboratory, the flash drought phenomenon has drastically changed the situation of rivers in the Amazon region. Climate change is intensifying the cumulative impacts of drought and increasing hydrological risk. Today, the signal is yellow, starting to approach orange.
“Current reservoir levels remain reasonable, but the abrupt change in the last three months has drawn attention,” says the meteorologist
For Humberto, Brazil’s high hydrological risk is still concentrated in the Amazon region. In his view, a strong relationship between droughts, degradation and increased fires are the premise of the problem in the region.
“We have drawn attention to the increase in the intensity of the drought, which is increasing the number of fires caused by human action in Brazilian biomes. Rivers in the Amazon basin are recording historically low levels for this period,” he adds.
The safety of the water system is a factor that depends on the reservoir levels. The upcoming rainy season, between November and April, will be decisive for the country’s energy sector. The water crisis that Brazil is currently facing is not expected to show significant improvements until the end of next year, according to Climate and Environment analyst Pedro Côrtes.
“I don’t believe the crisis will improve by the end of next year. At least it should persist, especially with the arrival of the La Niña event, which should occur now at the end of October,” said Côrtes.
The possibility of implementing daylight saving time is still under analysis by the government, which is considering several factors, including the impact on energy demand and projections for the water situation in the coming months. The final decision will depend on the evolution of the country’s energy and climate scenario.
This content was originally published in Amazon rivers reach critical levels for the second time in September on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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