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October 12, 2005
Intense Drought in the Amazon
The world's largest rainforest, the Amazon Rainforest, is currently suffering from one of the worst droughts in the past 40 years. Because of this drought, there have been: wildfires, unsafe drinking water, and a depletion of fish in the area. I fisherman from the Amazon basin leaves of us with the image of, "Thousands of rotting fish line the dry banks."
Some scientists believe that high temperatures in the ocean (caused by global warming) are the causes of such drought. Other scientists feel that the rising air, which causes storms, may have caused the air in the Amazon to move down and therefore losing the precious cloud formations that bring rain. Another theory of the droughts is because of current deforestation the moisture in the air is lost without the supply of trees, then causing more intense sunlight.
People of the area now can drive where they once swam. Because of the increasing heat farmers now have to clear many pastures that are now susceptible of wildfires. About 100,000 hectares of forest have now been burned since the drought began and the smoke has even shut down local airports. Gilberto Barbosa, the secretary of public administration in Manaquiri said, "We closed 40 schools and canceled the school year because there's a lack of food, transport and potable water." This drought has affected many throughout the Amazon.
A current fear now is that the still water will produce possible outbreak of malaria, and medicine is now much harder to reach without water transportation. To settle these fears, the state government has distributed 5 tons of basic medicines to different villages.
This drought has become a serious economic problem for the people and environment of the Amazon. It has already affected their agriculture, transportation, health, education, as well as, the biodiversity in the rainforest.
Posted by at October 12, 2005 12:01 AM | 2. In the News