Brazil loses natural surface water from climate change

Brazil is facing a significant loss of its natural surface water due to climate change and changing land use practices. A new report shows that the country lost 400,000 hectares of surface water from 2023 to 2024, an area about the size of Rhode Island. The report, released by the MapBiomas monitoring platform, highlights that Brazil's water sources have been shrinking for decades. Since 1985, the nation has lost approximately 2.4 million hectares of rivers and lakes. Factors contributing to this loss include drought, urban development, and excessive use of groundwater. Juliano Schirmbeck, the coordinator of the report, stated that the combination of land use changes and extreme climate events is making Brazil drier. He emphasized the need for new water management strategies and public policies to reverse this trend. Brazil holds about 12 percent of the world’s freshwater, particularly in the Amazon. The Amazon plays a vital role in regulating climate by absorbing carbon dioxide. However, last year saw a reduction of 4.5 million hectares of surface water in the Amazon compared to the previous year, which is comparable to the size of Denmark. The Pantanal wetlands, severely affected by drought and wildfires, reported water surface levels 61 percent below the average since 1985. Although human-made water bodies like reservoirs and dams have increased by 54 percent since 1985, they have not fully compensated for the loss of natural freshwater sources.