Brazil, home to the world's largest river, the Amazon, is facing a critical shift in water availability. While historically seen as water-rich, recent data reveals significant reductions in aquatic surfaces, losing around 400,000 hectares in just one year. Severe droughts have prompted water scarcity declarations across five river basins, impacting rural communities and leading to economic challenges like rising food and electricity prices. Major past water crises highlight how even countries rich in freshwater can experience severe shortages due to deforestation, climate change, and poor management.
"This myth needs to be broken because we are seeing a series of problems related to water use and a change in availability," said Juliano Schirmbeck.
"During the drought in 2021, electricity prices went up, food prices went up," said Augusto Getirana, a research scientist at NASA's Hydrological Sciences Laboratory.
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