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WORLD NEWS Monday 9 october 2023
‘Without water, there is no life’: Drought in Brazil’s Amazon is

sharpening fears for the future

By Edmar Barros (about 440 pounds) along it was winter. In its southern
Associated Press trails would be extremely state of Rio Grande do Sul,
MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — burdensome. devastating floods killed
Communities dependent Dry spells are part of the dozens.
on the Amazon rainforest’s Amazon’s cyclical weather Droughts have become
waterways are stranded pattern, with lighter rainfall more frequent in the Ama-
without supply of fuel, food from May to October for zon’s Madeira River, whose
or filtered water. Dozens most of the rainforest. That basin extends some 2,000
of river dolphins perished already low rainfall is being miles from Bolivia to Brazil,
and washed up on shore. further reduced this year with four of the five lowest
And thousands of lifeless by two climate phenom- river levels recorded in the
fish float on the water’s sur- ena: El Niño — the natural past four years, said Mar-
face. warming of surface waters cus Suassuna Santos, a re-
These are just the first grim in the Equatorial Pacific re- searcher with the Geologi-
visions of extreme drought Joaquim Mendes da Silva, 73, walks with his dog on the dry bed gion — and the warming of cal Survey of Brazil.
sweeping across Brazil’s of Puraquequara lake amid a drought, in Manaus, Amazonas northern tropical Atlantic The Madeira’s level at
Amazon. The historically low state, Brazil, Oct. 5, 2023. He said this drought is the worst he can Ocean waters, said Ana Porto Velho is the lowest
water levels have affected recall. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File Paula Cunha, a CEMADEN since measurements be-
hundreds of thousands of ter who has lived by the fected by the drought so researcher. gan in 1967. Nearby, Brazil’s
people and wildlife and, same lake for 43 years, said far, and that number may Global warming, driven by fourth-largest hydroelectric
with experts predicting the this drought is the worst he double by year’s end, ac- the burning of fossil fuels, is dam, Santo Antonio plant,
drought could last until ear- can recall. Area children cording to the state’s civil the backdrop of these in- halted operations this week
ly 2024, the problems stand stopped going to school a defense authority. tensified phenomena. Ris- due to the lack of water.
to intensify. month ago because get- In the Auati-Parana Ex- ing temperatures increase It’s the first time that hap-
Raimundo Silva do Carmo, ting there by river became tractive Reserve, about the likelihood of extreme pened since it opened in
67, makes his living as a fish- impossible. 450 miles west of Lake weather, although attribu- 2012.
erman, but these days has Eight Brazilian states re- Puraquequara, over 300 tion of specific events to Further north, in the Ne-
been struggling to simply corded the lowest rainfall riverine families are strug- climate change is com- gro River basin, a different
find water. Like most rural in the period from July to gling to get food and other plex and requires in-depth pattern has emerged. The
residents in Brazil’s Ama- September in over 40 years, supplies. Only small canoes study. Still, as global tem- Amazon’s main tributary
zon, do Carmo typically according to CEMADEN, with reduced cargo can peratures continue to rise has had seven of its largest
retrieves water untreated Brazil’s disaster warning manage the trip to the clos- and the effects of climate floods in the past 11 years,
from the biome’s abundant center. The drought has est city, and picking a route change become more se- with the worst in 2021. But
waterways. On Thursday affected most of the main through shallow water has vere, the drought and its the Negro River, too, is
morning, he was making his rivers in the Amazon, the pushed travel time from devastating consequenc- headed toward its lowest-
fourth trip of the day to fill world’s largest basin, which nine hours to 14. Moreover, es may be a glimpse into a ever water levels this year.
a plastic bucket from a well accounts for 20% of the canals to the lakes where bleak future, experts say. Brazil’s government has
dug into the cracked bed planet’s fresh water. they fish for pirarucu, the Average global tempera- created a task force to
of Lake Puraquequara, just And as of Friday, 42 of 62 Amazon’s largest fish and tures soared to a record in coordinate a response.
east of Amazonas state’s municipalities in Amazonas their primary source of in- September. Crushing heat Ministers of President Luiz
capital Manaus. had declared a state of come, have dried up, and waves have swept across Inácio Lula da Silva’s gov-
Joaquim Mendes da Silva, emergency. Some 250,000 carrying fish that weigh large swathes of Brazil ernment visited Manaus on
a 73-year-old ship carpen- people have been af- as much as 200 kilograms these past months, though Tuesday.q

UK Supreme Court weighs if it’s lawful for Britain to send

asylum-seekers to Rwanda

By Brian Melley place to send them. nearly 25% from the 33,000
Associated Press Three days of arguments that had made the crossing
LONDON (AP) — The British are scheduled to at the same time last year.
government’s contentious begin Monday with the The policy is intended to put
policy to stem the flow of government arguing its a stop to the criminal gangs
migrants faces one of its policy is safe and lawyers that ferry migrants across
toughest challenges this for migrants from Vietnam, one of the world’s busiest
week as the U.K. Supreme Syria, Iraq, Iran and Sudan shipping lanes by making
Court weighs whether it’s contending it’s unlawful Britain an unattractive
lawful to send asylum- and inhumane. destination because of the
seekers to Rwanda. The hearing comes as likelihood of being given a
The Conservative much of Europe and the one-way ticket to Rwanda.
government is challenging U.S. struggle with how best Consequences of the
a Court of Appeal ruling to cope with migrants crossing have been deadly.
in June that said the seeking refuge from war, In August, six migrants died
policy intended to deter violence, oppression and and about 50 had to be
immigrants from risking their a warming planet that The Supreme Court entrance is photographed in London, rescued when their boat
Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
lives crossing the English has brought devastating capsized after leaving the
Channel in small boats is drought and floods. as a top priority to curb are estimated to have northern coast of France. In
unlawful because the East Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unauthorized immigration. arrived in the U.K. by boat November 2021, 27 people
African country is not a safe vowed to “stop the boats” More than 25,000 people as of Oct. 2, which is down died after their boat sank.q