InQ.IFBA Portal da Inovação & Qualidade
by Beatriz Lourenço
The Amazon forest is going through a period of drought in a scenario that is considered extremely worrying. Its rivers are drying up and there are records of droughts throughout its length, with a greater incidence in the states of Acre, Rondonia, Roraima and Amazonas. According to WWF-Brazil (a non-partisan, non-profit Brazilian civil society organization that works in defense of life), this can be directly associated with the anormal warming of the Atlantic Ocean and can also be related to the same phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean, called ‘El Niño’. In this scenario, it is possible to draw a parallel between El Ñino and other consequences brought about by anthropogenic actions that end up polluting the environment and bringing climate change, which directly interferes with drought.
Agricultural and logging activities, which encourage rampant deforestation, are human actions that greatly interfere in this scenario, as well as mining, and the presence of dams and hydroelectric plants in the region, which in itself already harms the course and quality of the air, as that methane gas is released into the atmosphere.
This drought is extremely worrying as it has several economic consequences, such as fishing in the region, for example; and social, one of which is the scarcity of water, production and access to food and medicine for people in small villages.
According to the BBC, on Monday (16/10/2023), a measurement of the level of the Rio Negro was carried out and the result was regrettable: the river registered its lowest point since 1902, being approximately 13.6 meters, and reaching the drought record, which until then was 2010.
Area analysts believe that this moment can already be considered one of great concern and inestimable losses, such as the death of pink and gray dolphins in the region, in addition to the mortality of other species of fish, however, there are those who say that it is not yet possible to consider that this scenario is due to anthropogenic actions, since the region already has its own system of dry periods, as is the case of meteorologist and researcher Giovanni Dolif, who also explains that the current drought is compatible with models projected where there is an increase in the planet’s temperature.
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