Guyana is listed among several member countries of the Amazon Co-operation Treaty Organization that could face the consequences of the “most severe droughts facing the Amazon Basin in recent years.” The other named countries that, reportedly, share the same fate as a consequence of radical climate change are Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. The phenomenon could impact, to varying degrees, aspects of normal life in the affected countries.
While, historically, water levels in the southwestern Amazon Basin at this time of year are usually higher, a recent ‘Technical Note’ penned by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization states that the unfolding unkind weather pattern in the Amazon Basin this year means that the likely severe droughts have already begun to manifest themselves in Bolivia and Peru on account of the fact that water levels in the southwestern Amazon have already fallen to their lowest on record for this time of year. It adds that “historically,” the driest months are August and September, when fire and deforestation peak. So far, the most affected countries have been Bolivia, Peru and Brazil.
Recently, Brazil’s federal water agency decreed a water shortage in two major basins, Madeira and Purus, which cover an area nearly the size of Mexico. Subsequently, Acre state declared an emergency amid an impending water shortage in its main city. In June, Amazonas state adopted the same measures in 20 of its 62 municipalities that are mostly only accessed by water or air, even in normal times. These steps were taken more than two months earlier than in 2023, when most of the Amazon Basin suffered its worst drought on record, killing dozens of river dolphins, choking cities with smoke for months, and isolating thousands of people who depended on water transportation. The measures are used to increase monitoring, mobilize resources and personnel, and request federal aid.
