‘Without water, there is no life’: Drought in Brazil’s Amazon is sharpening fears for the future

By EDMAR BARROS
Associated Press

MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — The extreme drought sweeping across Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is already impacting hundreds of thousands of people and killing local wildlife. And with experts predicting the drought could last until early next year, the situation is set to worsen still. Riverside communities dependent on waterways have been stranded without access to food, water or fuel; dozens of pink river dolphins have died and washed up on shore; teachers and pupils are unable to navigate their way to school; and thousands of lifeless fish are floating on the water’s surface. As global temperatures continue to rise and the impacts of climate change become more severe, the drought and its devastating consequences may be a glimpse into a bleak future.