'On a scale never seen before in the country's history': Brazil faces catastrophe

Brazil is struggling to cope with its most severe drought in the last 70 years. Authorities state that forest fires are destroying residential areas and agricultural land, while air quality has also been reported to have declined.

Officials, noting that the country is experiencing its most serious drought in 70 years, recorded that approximately 59 percent of Brazilian territory is facing drought conditions. Authorities pointed out that the areas affected by the drought are equivalent to half the size of the United States.

Reporting that water levels in some rivers in the Amazon Basin are at their lowest in recent times, officials stated that forest fires affecting the entire country are destroying protected areas and that air quality has dropped significantly due to smoke spreading over a wide area.

Ana Paula Cunha, an official at the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters, said, 'For the first time, a drought extends from the north to the southeast of the country. This is the most intense and widespread drought in the country's history.'

Nayara Stacheski, director of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, also reported that this year's dry season began much earlier than in previous years, and that the rainy season was intense but short.

Stacheski stated, 'The winds are strong, the humidity in the air is very low, and the weather is extremely hot. All of this makes the forest fires even worse.'

News Source: AA