The Paraguay River has hit historically low water levels on Monday due to a drought in the Amazon rainforest.
Water levels were the lowest they had been in more than a century.
Landlocked Paraguay is one of the world’s leading exporters of agricultural commodities and relies on the river to move 80% of its international commerce, including grain, corn and soy.
Paraguay’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology reported that water levels dipped 35 inches below the meter’s benchmark at the port of Asunción, the capital, the lowest point in 120 years.
Jorge Saenz/AP
The head of Paraguay’s fishing union said Monday that the decline in water levels has put 1,600 fishermen out of work.
On Monday, dozens of boats normally navigating the river sat stranded on dry sandbanks.
“I have no way out,” said Fermín Giménez, a sailor who became trapped Monday as the river literally dried up beneath his small barge. “It’s a disaster.”
The previous record was in October 2021, and experts say this is a sign that droughts are becoming more frequent and intense.
The Amazon and one of its main tributaries, the Madeira River, have also registered new daily record lows at the city of Tabatinga.
In recent days, disruptions from Paraguay have spread across neighboring countries, with over half the river’s shipping capacity halted or delayed, according to Paraguay’s main shipping association.
Limited cargo can be loaded without risking ships getting stuck in shallow sections, it said.
This has caused costly issues for Brazil, which exports iron ore along the river, and Bolivia, now forced to reroute fuel shipments overland.
Paraguay, which relies on the river for electricity, also faces potential supply cuts, said Raúl Valdez, president of the Center of River and Maritime Shipowners.
With no rain expected, industry officials foresee losses in the hundreds of millions.
“Our main question is, will this now be a new pattern? No one is expecting a quick recovery,” Valdez said. “It’s a major concern for the whole region.”
Experts said low water levels in the Paraguay River reflect population growth, climate change and deforestation, as well as weak governance and inefficient irrigation practices.
“All over we are seeing increases in droughts; they are longer, more intense, more frequent and more difficult to recover from,” said Rachael McDonnell, deputy director-general for research at the International Water Management Institute.
As rainfall becomes more erratic and the warming climate intensifies the cycles of flood and drought, McDonnell added, “we’ve lost the slack in the system.”
The region is also facing wildfires in the forests along Paraguay’s northeast border with Brazil, where residents said Monday the air smelled of acrid smoke, and in parts of Bolivia, where the government has declared a national emergency.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press