Rapidly drying tributaries
Rivers in the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil fell to their lowest levels in over a century on Monday as a record drought upends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and damages the jungle ecosystem.
The port of Manaus, the region’s most populous city, at the meeting of the Rio Negro and the Amazon River, recorded 13.59 meters (44.6 feet) of water on Monday, compared to 17.60 a year ago, according to its website. That is the lowest level since records began in 121 years ago in 1902, passing a previous all-time low set in 2010.
Rapidly drying tributaries to the mighty Amazon have left boats stranded, cutting off food and water supplies to remote villages, while high water temperatures are suspected of killing more than 100 endangered river dolphins.
Never mind, we can grow artificial rivers in the lab.
Brazil’s Science Ministry blames the drought on the onset of the El Niño climate phenomenon this year, which is driving extreme weather patterns globally. In a statement earlier this month, the ministry said it expects the drought will last until at least December, when El Niño’s effects are forecast to peak.
Underlying El Niño is the long-term trend of global warming, which is leading to more frequent and more intense extreme weather events, like drought and heat.
In other words when El Niño is made worse by global warming things get very very bad.
