Researchers Hustling to Determine Cause of the Amazon River Dolphins Crisis

Workers with the institute say that they have also recovered thousands of dead fish. This has caused what little water is left in some areas to be unfit for human consumption.

Authorities say the water level in the Amazon River, the world's largest waterway, has fallen by over 11 inches daily for the last two weeks. At this time of year, the river should be about 66 feet deep, but it is currently only about 14 feet deep near Manaus, Brazil.

59 Municipalities Put Under Emergency Order

The lack of water in the region is impacting many families. Authorities have declared a state of emergency in 59 of 62 municipalities. Many of these areas have been cut off entirely as they use motorboats to get supplies. Earlier in the year, massive floods impacted the same area. The floods wiped out crops and killed some livestock.

The Acre River, which runs through Rio Branco, Brazil, is the lowest it has been since officials started keeping records in 1967, while the Madeira River near Porto Velho, Brazil, is at its lowest level since officials began keeping records in 1998.

A government official says that over 111,000 people have already been impacted. The country's civil defense unit says up to 500,000 people could be affected if the drought continues. The government has authorized $27.6 million to dredge local rivers and lakes to try to keep waterways open. They have also approved the military to deliver food, water and medicines to cutoff communities.

Endangered Dolphins Dying at Alarming Rates

About 80% of the dolphins are Amazon pink river dolphins. This is over 10% of all the dolphins living in the lake. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies pink dolphins, locally called botos, as endangered. They are one of only six species of freshwater dolphins left in the world. They include China's Yangtze River dolphin in that total, but people have not reported seeing those dolphins since 2002.

The remaining dolphins are gray river dolphins. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature also lists this dolphin as endangered. The residents call this dolphin the tucuxi.

Daphne Willems with the World Wildlife Foundation describes the news as devastating. She urged leaders to sign the global declaration to protect river dolphins on October 24.

El Nino Exasperates Drought

Authorities with the country's Civil Defense unit have pledged to get water to people impacted by the drought. They say they fear that droughts in the region will last longer and be more severe because of climate change. Additionally, they say that this drought is being impacted by the El Nino phenomenon, causing the land and water bodies to dry out faster.

Extreme drought that may be caused by climate change and made worse by El Nino may have killed over 120 dolphins in Lake Tefe. Some dolphins are pink, while others are gray, but both species are endangered. Experts are hustling to conduct autopsies on the dead dolphins because a cause must be found before moving them to a safer location.

The Amazon and other nearby rivers are at or near record lows, and extreme temperatures continue to lower water levels. The Brazilian government is rushing to try to dredge rivers and lakes before more people are cut off, but they fear up to 500,000 people could be impacted. They have authorized the military to bring water, medicines and food to about 111,000 people that are already cut off from supplies because of the low water levels.