Deadly Drought
Unprecedented drought in 2023 and 2024 severely affected water levels and temperatures throughout the Amazon basin. The 2023 drought was the worst the Amazon had experienced in 45 years. The drought in 2024 was even worse, dropping water levels in many rivers and tributaries to their lowest point on record. Some waterways dried up completely.
Lake Tefé essentially disappeared, contracting far from its shoreline. By September 2024, the water level in the lake’ s main channel had dropped to approximately six feet deep and barely more than 300 feet across, an almost incomprehensible reduction from the lake’ s typical maximum depth of 50 to 65 feet. As the water level fell, the temperature rose. In 2023, more than 200 endangered Amazon and Tucuxi River Dolphins died in Lake Tefé due to excessive water temperatures of 100 ° F and more.
Worsening drought is one of several far-reaching consequences of tree loss throughout the Amazon. Every acre cleared makes the rainforest less resilient to drought, increases the risk and severity of future droughts by contributing to climate change, and ultimately pushes the entire ecosystem toward a tipping point that could change it forever.
Quilombola community members carrying water, walking through what usually is the bottom of Lake Tefé | IIEB
Big Cats, Shrinking Range
Jaguars once roamed from the southwestern United States through the entirety of the Amazon rainforest, into Argentina, and possibly beyond. Today, their range is reduced to half that size, if not smaller. More than half of the Jaguars’ current range is within the Amazon, making it among the few remaining strongholds for the Americas’ largest cat.
Ongoing deforestation within the Amazon threatens the security of this stronghold. When trees are cleared for agriculture, roads, or other human development, the cats find themselves left with fragmented habitat, reduced populations of prey species, and often the risk of increased hunting by humans. This loss of habitat can sever connections between neighboring populations of Jaguar, making it harder for individuals to seek out new territories and breeding opportunities. To protect the Jaguars’ Amazon stronghold, we must stop the forest loss.
Jaguar | Marcos Vergueiro
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