Amazon rainforest port records lowest water level in 121 years amid drought

SAO PAULO (Reuters) :The water level at a major river port in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest hit its lowest point in at least 121 years on Monday, as a historic drought upends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and damages the jungle ecosystem.

Rapidly drying tributaries to the mighty Amazon river have left boats stranded, cutting off food and water supplies to remote jungle villages, while high water temperatures are suspected of killing more than 100 endangered river dolphins.

The port in Manaus, the region’s most populous city located where the Negro river meets the Amazon river, recorded a water level of 13.59 meters on Monday, according to its website. That’s the lowest level since records began in 1902, passing a previous all-time low set in 2010.

Some areas of the Amazon have seen the lowest rain levels from July to September since 1980, according to the Brazilian government disaster alert center Cemaden.

Brazil’s Science Ministry blames the drought on this year’s onset of the climate phenomenon El Nino, which is driving extreme weather patterns globally. In a statement earlier this month, the ministry said it expects the drought will last until at least December, when El Nino’s effects are forecast to peak.

The drought has affected nearly 400,000 people, according to the civil defense agency in the state of Amazonas, where Manaus is located.