The drought in the Rio Negro in 2024 is changing the landscape of the Manaus waterfront and affecting the routine of both the population and workers in the port area.
On Wednesday (4), the river was at 19.01 meters, 4.03 meters below the same day last year, when the level was 23.04 meters.
The data comes from the capital's Port, which is responsible for monitoring water levels.
Sandbanks force vessels to stay further and further away from the place where they usually dock, close to the public highway.
This impacts both visitors who arrive by boat in the capital and workers, who have to travel long distances on foot.
In August, the drought advanced alarmingly, with the level of the Rio Negro in Manaus dropping five meters, according to data from the Civil Defense of Amazonas.
The state government predicts that this year, Amazonas will experience a severe drought similar to or even worse than the one the state experienced in 2023.
During last year's drought, the Rio Negro reached its lowest level in the last 120 years.
Those who work with navigation on the Amazon rivers say that the biggest difficulty during this period is the sandbanks that take over the path.
They point out that this becomes even more challenging at night, when visibility is reduced.
According to Civil Defense monitoring, the Rio Negro began the month of August measuring 25.09 meters.
On Saturday (31), the waters measured 20.02 meters.
Also according to the agency, between Saturday (31) and Sunday (1st), the river dropped even further, reaching 19.77 meters.
Despite the problem, researchers from the Brazilian Geological Survey (SGB) believe that the river will not reach the 2023 drought level, which was 12.70 meters.
The forecast for this year is that the water level will be around 14 to 15 meters, which is already considered very low.

Fonte: Agência Amazônia