Devastating Impacts of 2023-24 Amazon Drought Revealed in U.N. Report

Researchers warn that droughts in the Amazon basin are expected to worsen as climate change continues, with severe and widespread impacts on local communities and ecosystems. The U.N. report on drought hotspots highlights the region's unprecedented drought, which led to the loss of 3.3 million hectares of surface water in Brazil's Amazon relative to 2022, and the lowest rainfall in 40 years in nine Amazonian countries.

The drought resulted in impeded transportation, drinking water shortages, deaths of aquatic wildlife, and wildfires, affecting hundreds of thousands of Amazonian people. In Peru's Amazon, more than 130 Indigenous communities were left isolated after the drought hit, and the region's already dwindling fish populations were further depleted due to low water levels and high temperatures. The drought also caused a mass fish die-off in Brazil's Amazon River, killing an estimated 20-30 metric tons of fish.

Environmental researchers consider the drought as "unprecedented" and "the most severe and widespread of the past century" in the Amazon region. Solutions to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to drought must be tailored to local contexts and undertaken as part of a government-wide and society-wide approach to build resilience, according to UNCCD program officer and drought expert Daniel Tsegai. Securing land rights, enhancing traditional food and water systems, and supporting local infrastructure, such as rainwater harvesting, are some key solutions that can mitigate drought impacts.

Key Takeaways:

• The 2023-24 drought in the Amazon basin led to the loss of 3.3 million hectares of surface water in Brazil's Amazon relative to 2022.
• Nine Amazonian countries experienced extremely high temperatures and their lowest rainfall in 40 years.
• Impeded transportation, drinking water shortages, deaths of aquatic wildlife, and wildfires were among the greatest challenges faced by communities.
• More than 130 Indigenous communities were left isolated in Peru's Amazon after the drought hit.
• A mass fish die-off in Brazil's Amazon River killed an estimated 20-30 metric tons of fish.
• Researchers warn that droughts are expected to worsen as climate change continues.

Statistics:

• 3.3 million hectares (8.1 million acres) of surface water lost in Brazil's Amazon relative to 2022.
• 9 Amazonian countries experienced their lowest rainfall in 40 years.
• 130+ Indigenous communities isolated in Peru's Amazon after the drought hit.
• 20-30 metric tons of fish killed in the mass die-off in Brazil's Amazon River.

Sources:

• UNCCD. (2025). Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Bonn. Recovered from: https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/2025-07/Drought%20Hotspots%202023-2025_ENG.pdf
• Souza, C. M., Marengo, J.,Ferreira, B., et al. (2024). Amazon severe drought in 2023 triggered surface water loss. Environmental Research: Climate, 3(4): 041002. doi: 10.1088/2752-5295/ad7c71
• Santos de Lima, L., Silva, F.E., Dorio Anastácio, P.R. et al. (2024). Severe droughts reduce river navigability and isolate communities in the Brazilian Amazon. Communications Earth & Environment, 5, 370. doi: https://doi-org.sdpl.idm.oclc.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01530-4
• Ferreira, V., Buras, A., Zscheischler, J., Mahecha, M. D., & Rammig, A. (2025). Evaluating the 2023-2024 record dry-hot conditions in the Amazon in the context of historical compound extremes. Environmental Research Letters. https://doi-org.sdpl.idm.oclc.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ade550
• Clarke, B., Barnes, C., Rodrigues, R., Zachariah, M., Stewart, S., Raju, E., Baumgart, N. J., Heinrich, D., Libonati, R., Santos, D., Albuquerque, R., Muniz, L., & Otto, F. (2024). Climate change, not El Niño, main driver of exceptional drought in highly vulnerable Amazon River Basin. In Research Portal Denmark. https://doi-org.sdpl.idm.oclc.org/10.25561/108761