Why is the Amazon river drying up?

Scientists emphasize that while the extreme drought is influenced by El Niño, deforestation over the years has worsened the situation. Additionally, wildfires linked to slash-and-burn practices favored by cattle ranchers and soybean producers are pushing the region beyond its limit.



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Extreme drought drives Amazon River port to lowest level on record. Amid extreme drought across South America exacerbated by climate-change related heat extremes and El Niño, major tributaries of the Amazon River are reporting record-low water levels.

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This vast untamed wilderness is under increasing threat from huge-scale farming and ranching, infrastructure and urban development, unsustainable logging, mining and climate change.

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Dams flood critical forests, alter the water chemistry, and can affect the passage of fish, compromising their survival. Fires – Fires in the Amazon have not been a natural occurring phenomenon until recently.

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About the Amazon This vast untamed wilderness is under increasing threat from huge-scale farming and ranching, infrastructure and urban development, unsustainable logging, mining and climate change.

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Scientists warn that decades of human activity and a changing climate has brought the jungle near a ?tipping point.? With nearly a fifth of the forest lost already, scientists believe that tipping point will be reached at 20% to 25% of deforestation.

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Underground river 'Rio Hamza' discovered 4km beneath the Amazon. Covering more than 7 million square kilometres in South America, the Amazon basin is one of the biggest and most impressive river systems in the world.

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