Brazil facing worst drought in nearly 100 years as officials issue emergency warning

Ministry warns dry spell is expected to continue for months in southeast and midwest region

Brazil suffered a severe drought in 2017 (seen here in the northeastern state of Ceara) that damaged coffee and soy crops and led to energy and water rationing (AFP/Getty)

Brazil is facing its worst drought in more than 90 years, sparking fears of energy shortages from its large hydroelectricity industry and an increased risk of fires in the Amazon rainforest.

The country’s Electricity Sector Monitoring Committee (CMSE) said on Thursday that water regulator ANA should recognise a situation of “water scarcity” in the Paraná River Basin following a prolonged drought in central and southern parts of Brazil.

“As highlighted by the National Electricity System Operator, in May 2021, significant values ​​of precipitation were not observed, typical behaviour of the dry season, a condition that should continue in the coming months, especially in the southeast/midwest region,” the CMSE said in a statement.

It added that water inflows remained below historical average rates, with values recorded from September 2020 to May 2021 at the worst levels in 91 years.

The CMSE warned it was now important to relax restrictions on some hydroelectric plants to allow for greater energy generation or storage in some regions.

Brazil’s National Meteorological System, linked to the Agriculture Ministry, also issued a “Water Emergency Alert” on Thursday to acknowledge an expected shortage of rain from June to September this year.

Periods of low rainfall are particularly damaging for the country as it is the world’s second-largest producer of hydroelectric power, behind China.

Hydropower accounted for more than 70 per cent of Brazil’s electricity output in 2018, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

When questioned about the impact of the drought, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters: “Energy rationing is not envisaged, but if there is no relaxing of restrictions, there is no other way.”

In 2019, a major study found that periods of extreme dry weather strongly increase the risk of intense forest fires compared to non-drought years, with this effect potentially exacerbated by human activities such as deforestation, farming and habitat fragmentation.

By monitoring three 50-hectare plots of Amazon rainforest over an eight-year period, researchers found that the rainforest did not burn greatly in years with normal rainfall but burned intensively and extensively in drought years.

Droughts are expected to increase in both frequency and severity due to climate change, with shorter, more intense rainy seasons and longer dry seasons.

Prolonged dry spells can also have an effect on the production of coffee and sugar, as Brazil is the world’s biggest exporter of those products.

Coffee and raw-sugar contracts on the ICE Futures exchange in the US reached four-year highs earlier this month following the poor rainy season, according to Bloomberg.

The news outlet reported that the drought has been so severe that some farmers are concerned about the prospect of running out of water reserves to keep crops alive during the dry season over the coming months.