ON OCTOBER 17, officials at Brazil’s Port of Manaus repeated what they have been doing every day since September 1902—they measured the water level of the Negro, one of the world’s voluminous rivers and the largest tributary of the mighty Amazon. The reading was alarming: at 13.49 metres, the Negro was flowing at its lowest in 121 years. Over the next 10 days, the water level of the Negro dipped further to 12.70 m, confirming that the Amazon river basin, which carries a fifth of the planet’s freshwater and is home to the largest rainforest, is in the grip of a historic drought.
Nobody expected such a severe drought following the record-breaking flood in 2021, when the Negro was flowing at the highest 30.02 m at the port. Its water level has now dipped by 17.3 m, the height of a five-storey building, says Jochen Schöngart of Brazil’s National Institute for Amazon Research, a public institution devoted to the study of the Amazon region.
Esta historia es de la edición November 16, 2023 de Down To Earth.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 16, 2023 de Down To Earth.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Trade On Emissions
EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on imports, is designed to protect European industries in the guise of climate action.
'The project will facilitate physical and cultural decimation of indigenous people'
The Great Nicobar Project has all the hallmarks of a disaster-seismic, ecological, human. Why did it get the go-ahead?
TASTE IT RED
Popularity of Karnataka's red jackfruit shows how biodiversity can be conserved by ensuring that communities benefit from it
MANY MYTHS OF CHIPKO
Misconceptions about the Chipko movement have overshadowed its true objectives.
The politics and economics of mpox
Africa's mpox epidemic stems from delayed responses, neglect of its health risks and the stark vaccine apartheid
Emerging risks
Even as the world gets set to eliminate substances threatening the ozone layer, climate change and space advancement pose new challenges.
JOINING THE CARBON CLUB
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL
Turn a new leaf
Scientists join hands to predict climate future of India's tropical forests
Festering troubles
The Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to contain mpox amid vaccine delays, conflict and fragile healthcare.
India sees unusual monsoon patterns
THE 2024 southwest monsoon has, between June 1 and September 1, led to excess rainfall in western and southern states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while others like Nagaland, Manipur and Punjab recorded a deficit.