Amazon River water levels in Colombia have fallen by up to 90 percent, a government agency said Thursday, as South America faces a severe and widespread drought.
The river, the world’s largest by volume and which also flows through parts of Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname, has been hit hard by drought that has spread wildfires across the continent.
“Water levels have fallen by between 80 and 90 percent in the past three months due to drought caused by climate change,” Colombia’s National Disaster Risk Management Unit said in a statement.
She added that water shortages have particularly affected indigenous communities who depend on the river for food and transportation.
Agence France-Presse has spotted boats stranded around Leticia, the capital of the southern state of Amazonas, in recent days, with large areas of land exposed to falling water levels.
The city is located near the borders with Brazil and Peru, and is an important trading center along the Amazon River.
Its residents say this is the worst drought in at least half a century.
The European Atmosphere Monitoring Service Copernicus said this week that wildfire activity in South America this year was “significantly above average” especially in the Amazon and Pantanal wetlands.
Fires are burning in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Bolivia.
Ecuador, which relies on hydroelectric power, is facing severe power shortages due to its worst drought in six decades, and has implemented frequent power outages and placed 20 of its 24 provinces on red alert.
In Brazil, thick columns of smoke hung over major cities such as Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, with smoke sometimes rising across the border into Argentina and Uruguay.
The Colombian capital, Bogotá, rationed municipal water months ago.
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