Severe Drought Has Returned to The Amazon

In several rivers in the southwestern Amazon, water levels are the lowest on record for this time of year - The AP
In several rivers in the southwestern Amazon, water levels are the lowest on record for this time of year - The AP
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Severe Drought Has Returned to The Amazon

In several rivers in the southwestern Amazon, water levels are the lowest on record for this time of year - The AP
In several rivers in the southwestern Amazon, water levels are the lowest on record for this time of year - The AP

Holder of one-fifth of the world's fresh water, the Amazon is beginning the dry season with many of its rivers already at critically low levels, prompting governments to anticipate contingency measures to address issues ranging from disrupted navigation to increasing forest fires.

“The Amazon Basin is facing one of the most severe droughts in recent years in 2024, with significant impacts on several member countries,” stated a technical note issued Wednesday by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, which includes Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, The AP reported.

In several rivers in the southwestern Amazon, water levels are the lowest on record for this time of year. Historically, the driest months are August and September, when fire and deforestation peak. So far, the most affected countries are Bolivia, Peru and Brazil, according to ACTO.

On Monday, Brazil’s federal water agency decreed a water shortage in two major basins, Madeira and Purus, which cover an area nearly the size of Mexico. The next day, Acre state declared an emergency amid an impending water shortage in its main city. In June, neighboring Amazonas state adopted the same measure in 20 of its 62 municipalities that are mostly only accessed by water or air, even in normal times.

These steps were taken more than two months earlier than in 2023, when most of the Amazon basin suffered its worst drought on record, killing dozens of river dolphins, choking cities with smoke for months and isolating thousands of people who depended on water transportation. The measures are used to increase monitoring, mobilize resources and personnel and request federal aid.

The depth of Madeira River, one of the largest Amazon tributaries and an important waterway for soybeans and fuel, went below 3 meters (10 feet) near Porto Velho on July 20. In 2023, that occurred on Aug. 15. Navigation has been limited during nighttime, and two of Brazil's largest hydroelectric plants may halt production, as happened last year.

In the Amazonas town of Envira, nearby rivers have become too shallow to navigate. Local officials have asked elders and pregnant women to move from riverine communities to the city center because otherwise medical help may not be able to reach them. Farmers who produce cassava flour can’t get it to market. As a result, this Amazon food staple has more than doubled in price, according to the local administration.

Another concern is fire. There were around 25,000 fires from January until late July — the highest number for this period in almost two decades. In the Amazon, fires are mostly human-made and used to manage pastures and clear deforested areas.

In Acre, the drought has already caused water supply shortages in several areas of its capital, Rio Branco. These communities now depend on trucked-in water, a problem experienced the previous year. Between the two droughts, severe flooding hit 19 of the state's 22 municipalities.

“It's been two years in a row of extreme events,” Julie Messias, Acre's secretary of environment, told The Associated Press. “The result is that we are facing a threat of food shortage. First the crops were flooded, and now the planting period is very dry.”



Smog Chokes Baghdad as Oil-Fired Factories Belch Out Smoke 

The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora (Daura) Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora (Daura) Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Smog Chokes Baghdad as Oil-Fired Factories Belch Out Smoke 

The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora (Daura) Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora (Daura) Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

Iraqi grocery store owner Abu Amjad al-Zubaidi is grappling with asthma, a condition his doctor blames on emissions from a nearby power plant that fills his Baghdad neighborhood with noxious smoke.

In winter, a thick smog frequently envelops the city of nine million people as the fumes belched out by its many oil-fired factories are trapped by a layer of cold air.

The stench of sulphur permeates some districts, where brick and asphalt factories run on heavy fuel oil, taking advantage of generous state subsidies in the world's sixth biggest oil producer.

In a bid to tackle the worsening air quality, authorities recently shut down dozens of oil-fired factories and instructed others to phase out their use of heavy fuel oil.

"Every time I went to the doctor, he told me to stop smoking. But I don't smoke," Zubaidi told AFP.

When his doctor finally realized that Zubaidi lived just meters from the Dora power plant in south Baghdad, he told him its emissions were the likely cause of his asthma.

Power plants and refineries spew thick grey smoke over several areas of Baghdad.

"We can't go up to our roofs because of the fumes," Zubaidi said.

"We appealed to the prime minister, the government and parliament. Lawmakers have come to see us but to no avail," the 53-year-old complained.

He is not the only victim of air pollution. Many of his neighbors suffer from chronic asthma or allergies, he said.

Waste incineration and the proliferation of private generators in the face of patchy mains supply also contribute significantly to Baghdad's air pollution.

- Sixth most polluted -

In 2023, the air monitoring site IQAir ranked Iraq as the sixth most polluted country in terms of air quality.

Levels of the cancer-causing PM2.5 pollutants, microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs, are seven to 10 times the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values.

IQAir warned that exposure to PM2.5 "leads to and exacerbates numerous health conditions, including but not limited to asthma, cancer, stroke and lung disease".

It found that air pollution levels in Baghdad were "unhealthy for sensitive groups".

According to the US embassy, air quality in the capital frequently enters the red zone, leading to "health effects", particularly for vulnerable groups.

In October, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a committee to investigate the causes of the "odorous sulphur emissions" so that they can be stopped.

Environment ministry spokesperson Amir Ali attributed the pollution to "industrial activities near the capital" -- particularly the brickworks and asphalt plants in the Nahrawan industrial zone in southeast Baghdad.

There lies "the largest number of factories responsible for the emissions", he said.

Ali also blamed private generators and refineries, including in Dora.

The pollution was exacerbated by "weather conditions, shifts in temperature, the direction of the wind, and increased humidity", his ministry said.

- Green belt -

In December, authorities announced the closure of 111 brickworks "due to emissions" that breach environmental standards, along with 57 asphalt plants in the Nahrawan industrial zone.

The industry ministry has also instructed brickworks to phase out their use of heavy fuel oil within 18 months and replace it with liquefied natural gas.

The government has banned waste incineration inside and outside landfills and has said it will improve "fuel quality at Dora refinery and address gas emissions and wastewater discharges".

Iraq is one of the world's largest oil producers, and sales of crude oil account for 90 percent of state revenues, so its transition to renewable fuels remains a distant goal.

Environmental activist Husam Sobhi urged authorities to keep up their efforts to phase out heavy fuel oil.

"It is difficult for a country like Iraq to let go of oil but we can use better quality oil than heavy fuel oil," Sobhi said.

He also called on planning authorities to put a stop to the city's sprawl into the surrounding countryside.

"Baghdad is in dire need of a green belt which would serve as a lung for the city to breathe," he said.