The worst drought in a century hit Brazil as it struggles to overcome Covid

The worst drought in nearly a century has put millions of Brazilians at risk of water shortages and power outages, complicating the country’s efforts to recover from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The agricultural centers in the states of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul were more severely affected, with the rainy season from November to March producing the lowest rainfall in 20 years.

The water level of the Cantarella Reservoir system, which serves approximately 7.5 million people in the city of São Paulo, dropped to less than one-tenth of its capacity this year. Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy said this is the country’s worst drought in 91 years.

“Recently we have no water every other day, but usually in the evening. But on Thursday we have no water all day,” said Nilza Maria Silva Duarte from the working class of the eastern district of São Paulo.

According to José Francisco Goncalves, professor of ecology at the University of Brasilia, the drought has had a devastating effect on important agriculture, which accounts for about 30% of GDP.

“The lack of water in rivers and reservoirs means that farmers will not be able to irrigate their land, which will lead to a decline in agricultural production,” he said.

He predicts that the drought will “inflate inflation and commodity prices on a global scale, and reduce Brazil’s GDP. It has a direct impact.”

Jose Odilon, a farmer from Ribeirão Preto, a thriving agricultural center in the interior of São Paulo State, said his sugarcane crop has been severely affected.

His vast plantation is dotted with heavy agricultural equipment-most of which is automated-peeling the leaves of the sugarcane, harvesting the stalks, and then dumping it into the waiting fleet of Mercedes trucks for delivery to local factories.

“Because of the lack of moisture in the soil, we will suffer more,” he explained. “This really hinders development.”

Odilon blamed the reversal of the La Niña weather pattern, which meant more rainfall in the Amazon basin and less rainfall in the southern part of the country.

Marcelo Latman, a climate activist at Greenpeace Brazil, said the drought is “directly related” to deforestation in the Amazon, which surged to its highest level in more than a decade last year. The forest water cycle system plays a vital role in the distribution of rainfall throughout South America.

Since hydropower accounts for approximately 65% ​​of Brazil’s electricity structure, drought has also reduced electricity production. It is estimated that this has forced people to switch to more expensive thermal power plants, pushing up the electricity prices for businesses and consumers by 40% this year.

“Our current model based on hydropower and thermal energy is not sustainable,” Laterman said. “The increase in drought has put pressure on the reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants. Our answer is to start thermal power plants-which is not only costly, but also increases greenhouse gas emissions and worsens the problem.”

The Brazilian government issued a warning about possible power outages, raising concerns that energy use will be rationed. Local media reported that the government is preparing a rationing decree to control the use of electricity when there is a power shortage. The Ministry of Mines and Energy stated that it is discussing energy rationing with “large consumers and industry to cope with the period of increasing energy demand.”

Silva Duarte said: “Our electricity bills are definitely more expensive. I don’t know how we will manage them because our wages have not increased. They say prices will rise further. Where will it stop?”

At the time of the drought, Brazil is struggling to deal with the economic and social impact of the pandemic.Nearly a million Brazilians died Coronavirus disease, The second largest country after the United States, has a death rate of more than 2,000 people per day.

The country’s vaccine promotion is also lagging behind and has only just begun to accelerate. Of Brazil’s 212 million people, only a little over a quarter has now received the first shot.

In the year to May, consumer prices have risen by more than 8%, and the combination of inflation and high unemployment has hit the country’s poorest citizens.

According to data from the Brazilian Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Safety Research Network, less than half of Brazilians now have access to adequate food at all times, and 19 million, or 9% of the inhabitants, face hunger.