Extreme drought affecting large parts of South America has dramatically reduced the flow of the Amazon River where Colombia borders Peru and Brazil, choking food supplies and threatening residents' health.

Brazil is enduring its worst drought since nationwide measurements began over seven decades ago, with 59% of the country under stress — an area roughly half the size of the U.S.

Left: A drone view shows floating houses and boats which are stranded due to the drought affecting the Rio Negro, the largest left tributary of the Amazon River, at the Cacau Pirera district in Iranduba, Amazonas state, Brazil September 2, 2024. Photo by Bruno Kelly/REUTERS

The current drought is concerning because it comes relatively early in the Amazon's dry season.

The worst drought on record has lowered the water level of the rivers in the Amazon basin to historic lows, in some cases drying up riverbeds that were previously navigable waterways. The Solimoes, one of the main tributaries of the mighty Amazon River whose waters originate in the Peruvian Andes,

About one-sixth of the world's freshwater that reaches the oceans passes through the Amazon's 320-km-wide delta as it empties into the Atlantic.

Brazil faces record wildfires and drought — and it may only get worse - Amazon fires have burned millions of acres, sending air quality plummeting for major metropolitan areas