RIO BRANCO, Brazil – Rosineide de Lima, a resident of the Panorama community in Rio Branco, in the state of Acre, faces a daily struggle for survival amid the severe drought that has hit Acre’s capital and surrounding region. In her house, where seven people live, water is rationed daily. “My well will run dry in August,” she told Mongabay, worried about the health of her five children. “For now, I’m still managing to get some water from it to wash clothes once a week and do household chores, but for drinking I’ve started buying mineral water since my children started having health problems, such as dehydration.” After experiencing an extreme drought in 2023, the Amazon is already feeling signs of a new drought this year. According to experts, the 2024 drought could be even worse. It has already affected 69% of the Amazon’s municipalities, an increase of 56% compared with the same period in 2023. Locals at Panorama, a 700-family community in Acre’s state capital, Rio Branco, face drinking water shortages due to the new 2024 severe drought in the Brazilian Amazon and rely on water tanks for daily activities. Image by Tácita Muniz. Panorama, located just over 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from Rio Branco’s downtown, is one of the 31 rural communities severely affected by the drought in the state. Although it lies 0.8 km (0.5 mi) from the banks of the Acre River, the community doesn’t rely on the polluted river for its water supply. The 700…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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