(Bloomberg) — There is no relief in sight from a historic drought in the Brazilian Amazon that is disrupting river transportation, fueling forest fires and killing wildlife, according to a leading climate scientist.
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Atmospheric physicist Paulo Artaxo said in an interview that no precipitation is expected for the immediate horizon in northern Brazil, even though the rainy season typically begins in late September or early October. He said climate change has made weather models vague and outdated and any prediction of when the rainy season will start is a shot in the dark.
“We should have already entered the rainy season and obviously that’s not happening,” Artaxo said. The climate “has already changed.” “Most countries are unprepared to deal with an increase in extreme climate events.”
The water level of the Rio Negro River, the Amazon’s main tributary, is at its lowest level since 1902, according to the Geological Survey of Brazil. Artaxo said it would take up to two months before enough rain fell to normalize navigation on Amazonian rivers. About 30 million Brazilians live in the Amazon and they depend on the rivers to transport essential goods, including food, medicine and drinking water. The drought has forced some soy and corn shipments to be redirected to other ports in the south of Brazil. A hydroelectric dam in the Amazon was temporarily shut down this month. Wildfires are increasing and river dolphins are dying.
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He said the heat waves that hit Europe, the Americas and Asia earlier this year showed that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense on the planet, and that governments need to act quickly to adjust to the new reality. Is required. For the Amazon this could mean finding alternatives to transport crops and other goods due to low water levels.
— With the help of Tarso Veloso.
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Source: finance.yahoo.com
