Drought affects some 70 million hectares in Argentina’s Paraná river basin

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Some 70 million hectares – an area twice the size of France – are affected by drought in the area of the Paraná River basin in Argentina and its neighboring countries, whose waters recorded a historic low that complicates several productive activities.

According to a report released Tuesday by Argentina’s National Meteorological Service, 75% of the Paraná basin area is affected by moderate to exceptional droughts. “This is equivalent to approximately 70 million hectares,” the report states.

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Due to the scarcity of precipitation in the basin that feeds the Paraná in Brazil, this river is going through a historic low, with levels not recorded since 1944.

This phenomenon also affects the Paraguay River, a tributary of the Paraná.

According to the report released on Tuesday, 62% of the area of the Paraguay river basin suffers moderate to exceptional droughts, equivalent to 68 million hectares.

The impacts of this phenomenon are registered in multiple productive sectors.

“River navigation, urban water intakes, energy generation, fish fauna, the risk of fires, and the modification of riverbeds and landscape are just some of the sectors that are already feeling the impact of the drought affecting a large part of the region,” the National Meteorological Service said.

According to the official agency, the forecast for the August-October quarter of this year is for a “greater probability of occurrence of below-normal precipitation” in the south of the Litoral region (northeastern Argentina) and the east of the province of Buenos Aires.

For subsequent quarters, until January 2022, the forecasts coincide in maintaining higher probabilities of below-normal precipitation occurrence in these areas, while for the headwaters of the Paraná River, the models forecast a higher probability of above-normal precipitation occurrence.