The Brazilian Amazon has suffered from a severe drought that the government has attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon, among other reasons.
Rainfall volume has fallen below the historical average in the northern Amazon, and river levels have dropped to near-record levels.
The BBC said that over 20 cities, including Manaus, have declared states of emergency. Thousands of people have been stranded in the more remote jungle villages. Villages relying on the rivers for their livelihoods and transport struggle to keep up with their lives. Medicine, water, and food are being brought in by air.
Experts suspect that the drought and heat wave have caused the high volume of river dolphins and fish washing up dead. Boat pilots have had to row through waters filled with dead fish through Piranha Lake.
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