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#amazonriver

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DoomsdaysCW

#WaterScarcity on the Rise: #Rivers Drying at Record Rates

by Vivek SainiVivek Saini, October 8, 2024

"Rivers worldwide are drying up at the fastest rate in 30 years, posing a critical threat to ecosystems, agriculture, and human populations. In 2023, unprecedented heatwaves, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall patterns resulted in the most severe year of water depletion in three decades, according to World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports. This alarming phenomenon is a direct consequence of climate change, worsened by unsustainable human activities, raising the spectre of widespread water scarcity.

A Crisis Accelerating: Rivers Drying at Record Rates

"The world’s rivers, crucial lifelines for billions of people, have shown alarming signs of depletion, with some drying up completely. The WMO’s recent State of the Global Climate report revealed that rivers in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia experienced their lowest levels since the early 1990s. Rivers like the #Yangtze, #AmazonRiver, and #Danube can no longer support the #ecosystems and communities that depend on them for agriculture, drinking water, and transport.

"The impact of climate change, marked by rising global temperatures, has played a significant role in this crisis. The warming of the Earth’s surface increases the evaporation rate from rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, intensifying water loss. Regions already prone to droughts, such as the Middle East, parts of Africa, and southern Europe, face even more severe shortages due to intensified drought cycles. In 2023 alone, the Danube, Europe’s second-longest river, saw record-low water levels, which crippled shipping routes and threatened agricultural output in countries like #Hungary and #Romania.

"This drying trend is not limited to one region. The #ColoradoRiver continues to shrink in the United States, causing severe #WaterShortages for millions in states like #Arizona and #Nevada. Similar trends have been observed in the #IndusRiver in #SouthAsia, which supports millions of people in #Pakistan and #India. These drying rivers are a wake-up call for the global community to address water conservation and management issues before irreversible damage occurs​."

Read more:
climatefactchecks.org/water-sc
#ClimateCrisis #WaterIsLife

Climate Fact Checks · Water Scarcity on the Rise: Rivers Drying at Record Rates - Climate Fact ChecksRivers worldwide are drying up at the fastest rate in 30 years, posing a critical threat to ecosystems, agriculture, and human populations. In 2023, unprecedented heatwaves, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall patterns resulted in the most severe year of water depletion in three decades, according to World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports. This alarming phenomenon is […]
Dezoito
Traveling by pirogue is a common way of transportation for the Huni Kuin people who live along the Jordão River in the state of Acre, Brazil. These watercraft are essential for accessing remote areas and navigating the region's network of rivers.

#footpathfriday #HuniKuin #HuniKuins #Kashinawa #Cashinahua #Caxinauá #Acre #Brazil #pirogue #boat #traditional #transportation #indigenous #native #amazon #amazonas #amazonRiver #CulturalHeritage #SustainableLiving #EcologicalTourism #NatureConnection #RiversoftheAmazon #RuralBrazil #tradicional #povosOriginais #florestaTropical #photography #photo #fotografia #foto #nature #naturaleza #pixelfed #travel
#Travel
DoomsdaysCW

Humanity's Chance to Reverse #AmazonRainforest's Slide Toward #TippingPoint Is 'Shrinking'

The world's largest #rainforest showed "ominous indicators," including #wildfires and #ExtremeDrought, in 2024.

The Amazon, sometimes called the '#LungsOfThePlanet,' this year showed signs of further inching toward a much-feared tipping point, threatening the very existence of the world's largest rainforest.

"Rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaged large parts of the Amazon in 2024. The fires and dry conditions were fueled by deforestation and the El Niño weather pattern, and also made worse by climate change, according to the World Economic Forum. 'The number of fires reached its highest level in 14 years this September,' the group reported in October.

"#Drought has also impacted the #AmazonRiver, causing one of the river's main tributaries to drop to its lowest level ever recorded, according to October reporting from The Associated Press. The drop in the river has negatively impacted local economies and #FoodSupplies.

"Andrew Miller, advocacy director at #AmazonWatch, told the AP last week that the fires and droughts experienced across the Amazon in 2024 'could be ominous indicators that we are reaching the long-feared ecological tipping point.'

"'Humanity's window of opportunity to reverse this trend is shrinking, but still open,' he said.

"The Amazon plays a vital role in keeping the planet healthy. 150-200 billion tons of carbon are stored in the Amazon, and it also carries 20% of the earth's fresh water to sea.

"According to the World Economic Forum, if the Amazon tipping point is reached, 'it will release billions of tonnes of #CO2 into the atmosphere through fires and plants dying off. This would further exacerbate climate change and make the 1.5°C goal impossible to achieve. It would also alter weather patterns, which would impact agricultural productivity and global food supplies.'

"A paper published in the journal Nature in February indicates that up to half of the rainforest could hit a tipping point by the middle of the century. 'We estimate that by 2050, 10% to 47% of Amazonian forests will be exposed to compounding disturbances that may trigger unexpected ecosystem transitions and potentially exacerbate regional #ClimateChange,' explained the researchers behind the paper.

"However, it wasn't all bad news out of the Amazon in 2024. According to the AP, the amount of #deforestation in #Brazil and #Colombia declined in this year. In Brazil, which houses the largest chunk of the Amazon, forest loss dropped 30.6% compared to the year prior, bringing it to the lowest level of destruction in nearly a decade.

"The improvement is an about-face from a couple of years ago, when the country registered 15-year high of deforestation during the leadership of former #FarRight President #JairBolsonaro. Brazil is now led by the left-wing President Luiz Inácio #Lula da Silva, who—despite presiding over this drop in deforestation—has also come under scrutiny, as AP noted, by #environmentalists for backing projects that they argue could harm the environment."

Source:
commondreams.org/news/amazon-r

Common Dreams · Humanity's Chance to Reverse Amazon's Slide Toward Tipping Point Is 'Shrinking' | Common DreamsThe world's largest rainforest showed "ominous indicators," including wildfires and extreme drought, in 2024.
#ClimateCatastrophe#EnvironmentalEmergency#SouthAmerica
DoomsdaysCW

#Rain is finally coming to the #drought-stricken #Amazon. But it may not be enough

By Carrie Kahn, NPR
Published October 30, 2024

MANAUS, #Brazil — "Dark clouds rumble over the tiny #AmazonRiver community of Nossa Senhora do Livramento.

"After two years of devastating drought, you might think that residents in this parched and isolated town of about 350 families would be elated that it's finally raining. But many just shrug at the brief torrential downpour. Some liken it to that burst of energy a patient can get moments before death.

"Such pessimism is understandable given the devastation this and hundreds of other communities have been experiencing throughout the Amazon. Dependent on its vast riverways for nearly everything, millions of residents have been left high and dry.

"In the more than 100 years since river levels have been monitored, never has the mighty #AmazonRiver and the major tributaries of the world’s largest river system recorded such little rainfall. In October, the #RioNegro hit the lowest levels since records were first kept in 1902."

Read more:
nhpr.org/2024-10-30/rain-is-fi

NHPR · Rain is finally coming to the drought-stricken Amazon. But it may not be enoughBy Carrie Kahn
#ClimateChange#ExtremeDrought#SouthAmerica
The Japan Times

Ecuadoran activist Alex Lucitante has long fought land-grabbing miners and armed groups in the Amazon. This month, he'll take his battle to world leaders at the COP16 biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia. japantimes.co.jp/environment/2 #environment #climatechange #amazonriver #ecuador #brazil #environment #cop16 #un

The Japan Times · Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of U.N. forumBy Hervé Bar
beSpacific

#AmazonRiver has seen its levels in #Colombia reduced by as much as 90% govt agency said as #SouthAmerica faces a severe, widespread #drought. The river—the world's biggest by volume and which also flows through parts of #Brazil, #Peru, #Bolivia, #Ecuador, #Venezuela, #Guyana, #FrenchGuiana and #Suriname—has been hard hit by drought that has seen wildfires spread across continent. Water level has decreased bet 80-90% in last 3 months due 2 drought caused by #climatechange phys.org/news/2024-09-drought-

Phys.org · Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: reportBy Science X
DoomsdaysCW

During #Brazil’s worst #drought, #wildfires rage and the #AmazonRiver falls to a record low

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE
Updated 2:47 PM EDT, September 10, 2024

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — "Brazil is enduring its worst drought since nationwide measurements began over seven decades ago, with 59% of the country under stress — an area roughly half the size of the U.S.

"Major Amazon basin rivers are registering historic lows, and uncontrolled manmade wildfires have ravaged protected areas and spread smoke over a vast expanse, plummeting air quality.

"'This is the first time that a drought has covered all the way from the North to the country’s Southeast,' Ana Paula Cunha, a researcher at the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters, said in a statement Thursday. 'It is the most intense and widespread drought in history.'

"Smoke on Monday afternoon caused #SaoPaulo, a metropolitan area of 21 million people, to breathe the second most #PollutedAir in the world after #LahorePakistan, according to data gathered by #IQAir, a Swiss air technology company.

"About 1,100 kilometers (683 miles) to the north, a wildfire is sweeping through #ChapadaDosVeadeiros National Park, one of Brazil’s most famous tourism sites.

"'This year, the dry season started much earlier than in previous years, whereas the rain season was intense yet short,' Nayara Stacheski, head of the park, told The Associated Press. 'The wind is strong, the air humidity is very low and it’s extremely hot. All this worsens the wildfire.'"

Read more:
apnews.com/article/brazil-drou

#ClimateCrisis#ClimateCatastrophe#WaterIsLife
The Japan Times

The Brazilian Amazon recorded 13,489 wildfires in the first half of 2024, the worst figure in 20 years and what experts say is the result of a historic drought that struck the world's largest tropical rainforest last year. japantimes.co.jp/environment/2 #environment #climatechange #brazil #amazonriver #wildfires #climatechange

The Japan Times · Brazil's Amazon sees worst 6 months of wildfires in 20 yearsBy Louis Genot
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