As reported by the Earth Observatory, rivers across the Amazon basin, including in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, have fallen to unprecedented low levels in October 2024 due to a severe drought.
The Solimões River, near Tabatinga in western Amazonas, Brazil, dropped to 254 centimeters below the gauge’s zero mark on October 4, 2024, a record low.
Cities including Porto Velho, Jirau-Justante, Fonte Boa, and Manacapuru have also reported historically low water levels.
Satellite data analyzed by NASA scientists indicated similar drops in water levels at several lakes and reservoirs in Brazil.
“The magnitude of the current drought is roughly double what the region saw in 2015-2016, the last time a strong El Niño occurred,” said Prakrut Kansara, a hydrologist at Johns Hopkins University.
The ongoing drought is attributed in part to El Niño, a climate pattern marked by warm water in the equatorial Pacific, which has disrupted rainfall patterns in the Amazon basin.
According to Kansara, rainfall during the dry season—July, August, and September—was substantially below average, with some areas receiving 160 millimeters (6 inches) less rain than normal.
The reduced rainfall led to a fourfold decrease in streamflow across western Amazonas, northern Peru, and southern Venezuela.
Brazil’s National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN) also noted that an area of warming in the North Atlantic may have contributed to the unusually severe drought.
This warming could have further shifted rainfall patterns, intensifying the drought conditions in the Amazon region.
The drought has sparked a surge in wildfires, particularly in the southern Amazon and Pantanal regions, which span parts of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
The Pantanal region, in particular, has faced one of its worst fire seasons in decades, as reported by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
Smoke plumes from these fires were observed by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on September 3, 2024.
Beyond fires, the drought has disrupted hydroelectric power generation in Brazil and Ecuador, straining power supplies.
Impassable rivers and transportation disruptions have also made it difficult for some communities to access supplies.
As Doug Morton, an Earth system scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, explained: “Low rainfall in the Pantanal during last year’s wet season predisposed this region to a greater risk of fire.”
The ongoing drought is also hampering scientific research in the Amazon basin.
Some research teams working on early warning systems for diseases like malaria have been unable to access critical sites due to low water levels.
As Kansara noted: “We work with colleagues in Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador on an early warning forecast system for malaria who haven’t been able to access some research sites due to low water levels.”
CEMADEN has called the current drought the most intense Brazil has faced in recent history.
As of early October, the number of Brazilian municipalities experiencing extreme drought was projected to rise from 216 in September to 293 by the end of October.
In October 2024, rivers in the Amazon basin fell to record-low levels due to a prolonged drought, affecting Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela.
The drought is linked to El Niño and warming in the North Atlantic, reducing rainfall and streamflow across the region.
The Solimões River and several lakes and reservoirs in Brazil experienced the most significant drops.
The drought has intensified wildfires, disrupted hydroelectric power, and strained transportation networks.
Scientific research efforts have also been hindered by the low water levels.
Brazil’s CEMADEN has declared the current drought to be the most severe in the country’s history.
