Rio Negro reaches lowest level in history – 10/16/2023 – Environment

The Negro River reached its lowest level this Monday (16) in 120 years of measurement in Manaus. The mark breaks the negative record of 2010 and confirms the 2023 drought as the most severe in recent times in this part of the Brazilian Amazon.

Measurement data from the Port of Manaus, taken into account in analyzes and studies by Inpa (National Institute for Amazonian Research), show that the river’s elevation this Monday is 13.59 m. On October 24, 2010, the level was 13.63 m, the worst measurement recorded until then.

“The river should fall even further”, says Renato Senna, climatologist and researcher at Inpa. “Based on historical data, the major droughts lasted until the end of October and the beginning of November.”

The historic drought transformed the landscapes and lives of people who depend on the river in the capital of Amazonas.

At Marina do Davi, for example, where boats leave for beaches on the river and for communities closer to urban centers, the atmosphere is desolate. Floating vessels that used to be ticket sales and passenger boarding points are stranded in the dry, no longer useful. Other floaters are stranded in the mud.

To get to the river, you have to walk along improvised wooden walkways, placed in places where previously there was only water. In communities and beaches, reports are of isolation, mud and shortages.

Last year, the driest day on the Negro River in Manaus was October 28, when the level was 16.19 m, according to daily measurements at the Port of Manaus. The 2022 drought had been considered severe.

In addition to 2010, the year 1963 also had a moment when the river fell below 14 m. It was on October 30th, with 13.64 m.

Extreme drought situations have been repeated in other parts of the Amazon this year. In the middle Solimões, streams have completely dried up, forcing riverside dwellers to look for taps in Tefé (AM) to have drinking water. They have to walk for kilometers with gallons of water on their shoulders, due to the impossibility of access by boats.

In the vicinity of the Porto Praia de Baixo and Boará/Boarazinho Indigenous Lands, also in the Tefé region, Solimões has become a desert, with sandbanks as far as the eye can see. The indigenous people are unable to sell their flour and banana production. In some communities, the consumption of stagnant water in streams causes outbreaks of diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain.

For the first time, it was necessary to push red dolphins – pink dolphins – and tucuxis – a smaller species of dolphin – out of a cove rich in fish near the port of Tefé. It was the way that researchers found to guarantee the survival of the animals. In September, more than 140 died in the lake, whose water temperature reached 39 degrees.

Extremes have also been recorded in the upper Solimões, where Tabatinga (AM), Benjamin Constant (AM) and Atalaia do Norte (AM) are located, and in the Madeira River, where Nova Olinda do Norte (AM) and Humaitá (AM) are located.

Along the Madeira River, the Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant – the fourth largest in the country, in Rondônia – suspended operations.

Of the 62 municipalities in Amazonas, 50 are in an emergency situation and 10 are on alert, according to the state’s Civil Defense. According to experts, what is happening on the Jutaí River, in western Amazonas, deserves more attention, as it is experiencing a drought not seen in 15 years.

In Manaus, the extreme drought gained visibility due to smoke for weeks in a row in the city. Coming from forest fires, the smoke invaded homes in rich, middle-class and poor neighborhoods.

The extremely low level of the river, however, mainly affects riverside and indigenous communities that depend on a minimum flow of boats to work, fish and access basic supplies.

Measurements from the Port of Manaus show that the level of the Negro River has continued to fall at an accelerated pace in recent days.

Last Friday (13), the level was 13.91 m. On Saturday, 13.78. On Sunday, it fell to 13.69, until its historic level this Monday, at 13.59 m.