MADEIRA RIVER, Brazil — While the Amazon Rainforest’s historical drought was peaking in September 2024, the Paraizinho community, in the southern Amazon, went through its most calamitous times. There, 33 families rely on the Madeira River, whose waters rinse the traditional floodplain agriculture, to flow production to governmental programs that distribute food to local schools about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) downstream. However, in 2024, there was no nutrient-rich freshwater to irrigate their small-scale crops of bananas, watermelons, pumpkins and other crops. This scenario is becoming more frequent in the Amazon, and it worries traditional communities and Indigenous populations who rely on the Madeira as the 2025 dry season approaches and the Amazon — and the planet — gets warmer. “There was a shortage of everything we cultivate here in the community, and the well we used for water supply dried up,” João Mendonça, a local health agent and the president of the Association of Paraizinho’s Farmers, told Mongabay. Historically, rainfall in the Amazon drops from June to November (also known as the Amazon’s summer, even though it occurs in Brazil’s winter and spring). “We had to get drinking water in the city. We also practice artisanal fishing but weren’t able to catch almost any fish – even for our own consumption it was difficult,” Mendonça said. Fisher João Mendonça, from the community of Paraisinho, fears future droughts after experiencing Madeira’s worst drought in 2024. “We had to get drinking water in the city.” Image by Bruno Kelly. The Madeira River,…This article was originally published on Mongabay