Amazon Rainforest Port Records Lowest Water Level in 121 Years amid Drought

 An aerial view shows the Negro River, which has been affected by drought, in front of Santa Helena do Ingles community, in Iranduba, Amazonas state Brazil, October 7, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view shows the Negro River, which has been affected by drought, in front of Santa Helena do Ingles community, in Iranduba, Amazonas state Brazil, October 7, 2023. (Reuters)
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Amazon Rainforest Port Records Lowest Water Level in 121 Years amid Drought

 An aerial view shows the Negro River, which has been affected by drought, in front of Santa Helena do Ingles community, in Iranduba, Amazonas state Brazil, October 7, 2023. (Reuters)
An aerial view shows the Negro River, which has been affected by drought, in front of Santa Helena do Ingles community, in Iranduba, Amazonas state Brazil, October 7, 2023. (Reuters)

The water level at a major river port in Brazil's Amazon rainforest hit its lowest point in at least 121 years on Monday, as a historic drought upends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and damages the jungle ecosystem.

Rapidly drying tributaries to the mighty Amazon river have left boats stranded, cutting off food and water supplies to remote jungle villages, while high water temperatures are suspected of killing more than 100 endangered river dolphins.

The port in Manaus, the region's most populous city located where the Negro river meets the Amazon river, recorded a water level of 13.59 meters on Monday, according to its website. That's the lowest level since records began in 1902, passing a previous all-time low set in 2010.

Some areas of the Amazon have seen the lowest rain levels from July to September since 1980, according to the Brazilian government disaster alert center Cemaden.

Brazil's Science Ministry blames the drought on this year's onset of the climate phenomenon El Nino, which is driving extreme weather patterns globally. In a statement earlier this month, the ministry said it expects the drought will last until at least December, when El Nino's effects are forecast to peak.

The drought has affected nearly 400,000 people, according to the civil defense agency in the state of Amazonas, where Manaus is located.



Copper Cable Thefts in Spain Leave Passengers Trapped in Trains Overnight

Passengers wait to be given access to their trains after cable stolen from a high-speed train line between Madrid and Andalusia caused delays at Atocha station in Madrid, Spain, May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera
Passengers wait to be given access to their trains after cable stolen from a high-speed train line between Madrid and Andalusia caused delays at Atocha station in Madrid, Spain, May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera
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Copper Cable Thefts in Spain Leave Passengers Trapped in Trains Overnight

Passengers wait to be given access to their trains after cable stolen from a high-speed train line between Madrid and Andalusia caused delays at Atocha station in Madrid, Spain, May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera
Passengers wait to be given access to their trains after cable stolen from a high-speed train line between Madrid and Andalusia caused delays at Atocha station in Madrid, Spain, May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Copper thieves brought part of Spain's high-speed train network to a standstill on Sunday evening, leaving some trapped in trains overnight and thousands stranded at stations.
Thieves stole cables in four areas within a 10-kilometer radius in what Transport Minister Oscar Puente called a "serious act of sabotage" in a post on X.
Train services on the affected lines were suspended Sunday evening, and while on Monday morning a few trains left Madrid for Toledo, 70 kilometers south, services to cities such as Seville and Malaga further south were still suspended, Adif said on X, according to Reuters.
Thousands of people were left waiting in Madrid's Atocha station. It comes after hundreds of passengers were left trapped on trains last week during a nationwide blackout.
Nine trains were left stranded between stations, with many passengers forced to spend the night onboard, according to interviews on state broadcaster TVE.
The state-owned railway infrastructure operator Adif said its staff were working to replace the stolen cables and reestablish the service.
The high-speed network has rapidly expanded in Spain as part of a government push to decarbonize public transport.
The network connects almost all the country's big cities but is vulnerable to cable thefts because it crosses large swathes of empty countryside.