Navigation in the Alto Solimões region is already suffering the impacts of this year's drought.
The drought is expected to be even more severe than the historic drought of 2023.
With the rapid descent of waters, large vessels are unable to reach the municipalities of Benjamin Constant and Atalaia do Norte.
The Solimões River, which bathes these municipalities, continues to fall in the Triple Border region - Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
In Benjamim Constant, for example, the drought has already changed the scenario of the region known as Ponta da Ilha do Aramaçá.
There, the water level is already so low that it is possible to walk where the Solimões River used to be.
To prevent vessels from becoming stranded in the region, navigators have avoided passing through the area, which was used as an access route to both Benjamin Constant and the municipality of Atalaia do Norte.
"The logistics are very complicated, it is impossible to reach Benjamin Constant in the lowlands. The boats are leaving directly from Tabatinga and going to Manaus without passing through Benjamin Constant", explained the owner of the F/B Banzeiro vessel, Henock Silva.
The unfeasibility of navigation also affects the supply of businesses in the nine municipalities in the Alto Solimões region. Goods that are taken on boats leaving Manaus are getting stuck in the port of Tabatinga.
To avoid shortages in both municipalities, traders have chartered canoes. Among the goods are products that make up the basic food basket, such as rice, sugar, eggs and chicken.
"Large boats are no longer able to reach Benjamin Constant, they have to go by canoe. The situation is difficult now", said the canoeist, Antônio da Silva.
At the beginning of this month, the Government of Amazonas declared an emergency situation due to drought in twenty municipalities in the interior of the state. Seven cities are in the Alto Solimões region.

Source: Amazon Agency