Devastating drought in Amazon result of climate crisis, study shows

Floating homes and boats stranded on the dry bed of Puraquequara lake in Brazil amid severe drought in October 2023. Photograph: Edmar Barros/AP

The climate crisis turned the drought that struck the Amazon rainforest in 2023 into a devastating event, a study has found.

The drought was the worst recorded in many places and hit the maximum “exceptional” level on the scientific scale. Without planet-warming emissions from the burning of oil, gas and coal, the drought would have been far less extreme, the analysis found.