Severe Drought Causes Record Low Water Levels in Major Amazon Tributary, Leaving Brazilian Villages Isolated

The Solimões River, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon River in Brazil, dropped to its lowest level ever recorded on Monday due to the worst drought in the Amazon region's history. This has left riverbank villages stranded, without adequate food, water, or transportation as the river becomes too shallow for boats to navigate.

At Manacapuru, a town located about 100 kilometers (63 miles) upriver from the state capital of Manaus, where the Solimões meets the Rio Negro to form the Amazon, the river's depth was recorded at just 3 meters (9.8 feet), according to Brazil's Civil Defense agency. This is 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) lower than the previous record set last year on October 25.

With nearly a month remaining before the rainy season begins, the water level is expected to drop even further, worsening the crisis for the communities that depend on the river. Villages have been left isolated, as the river has become too shallow for boats, cutting off access to crucial food supplies and, more urgently, drinking water.

The receding river has exposed a vast sandbank that locals now have to walk across for two hours under the intense sun to reach their homes. "This is very hard. Every day we have to make this long walk along the beach carrying our things," said Taciara Souza Oliveira, a young resident.

Boats that once easily traveled the river now sit stranded on its banks or trapped in ponds of water formed within the sand dunes. The drought has made it increasingly difficult for riverside residents like Manuel de Castro, who said, "The drought is bad, and it's getting worse. There is still a month to go of dry season. We have to make this sacrifice to get home."

Fishing, a critical source of protein for these communities and for the Indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest, has also been severely impacted. Fish populations have dwindled, and many have died in the shallow, overheated waters.

Environmentalists warn that climate change and global warming are driving these extreme droughts, drying up rivers across the Amazon and leading to unprecedented wildfires that destroy the region's parched vegetation.