More than 60 Brazilian municipalities have been placed under a state of emergency due to drought. Extreme heat and lack of rainfall have also led to the largest mass fires in a dozen years in the Amazon. In some areas, drinking water has to be provided by non-governmental organizations.
Authorities in 62 Brazilian municipalities in the Amazon have declared a state of emergency due to the increasing drought in the region. The increasing water shortages are accompanied by numerous forest fires.
According to Globo TV, more than 80,000 families live in the municipalities where a state of natural disaster has been declared. The station noted that the unprecedented drought in the Amazon basin has forced state and national institutions and non-governmental organizations to cooperate in providing drinking water to the area affected by the disaster.
Record low water levels in rivers
The intensifying drought is reflected in record low water levels in the Madeira River, a right tributary of the Amazon. In the city of Porto Velho, the river was just 91 cm deep on Monday, a level never seen before.
Brazilian authorities estimate that more than four million hectares of forest have been burned this year in the Amazon as a result of drought-related mass fires, the most since 2010. Another region of Brazil experiencing numerous fires this year is the Pantanal, a vast alluvial plain characterized by a wealth and diversity of nature.
According to the G1 portal, thousands of various species of wild animals, mammals, reptiles and birds have died in this region this year as a result of this year's fires.
Main image source: PAP/EPA/Isaac Fontana