Posted: Nov 02, 2010 4:01 am
Drought strikes the Amazon rainforest again
Climate change may explain why history is repeating itself in Brazil.
Jeff Tollefson
Published online 29 October 2010 | Nature
Black River (Rio Negro, in Portuguese) is seen empty due to drought in Manaus, in the Brazilian northern state of Amazonas, on October 21, 2010. Fourty of the 62 municipalities belong Amazonas state declared state of emergency because of the lack of water.
Five years ago, vast areas of the Amazon were hammered by a historic drought, which destroyed trees, impacted the livelihoods of fishermen and others who are dependent on the river and presented scientists with what was seen as a rare opportunity to investigate the world's largest rainforest in extreme distress. Drought has now struck again, reinforcing fears that the invisible hand of climate change may be involved. Nature takes a closer look.
How does the current drought compare with the one in 2005?
So far it seems the drought is similar in size, although some features vary. Luiz Aragao, a remote-sensing expert at the University of Exeter, UK, who has reviewed Brazilian data from ground stations and satellites, says that the drought appears to be broader in scope but slightly less intense than 2005. The current drought has affected a large area covering the northwest, central and southwest Amazon, including parts of Columbia, Peru and northern Bolivia. Fewer clouds and less rain also translate into higher temperatures, and Aragao says that the maximum temperatures in September are 1 °C higher than 2005, and 2–3 °C higher than average. Water levels in the primary tributary Rio Negro — or Black River — are at historic lows.
...continues...
A severe drought is affecting the Amazon
for the second time in five years.
E. QUEIROZ/AP/Press Association
