A young man brings food to his mother who lives in the village of Manacapuru. The village was once accessible by boat, but because of the drought, he must walk 2 kilometers along the dry riverbed of the Solimões River to reach her. Amazonas, Brazil. 
2025 Photo Contest - South America - Stories

Droughts in the Amazon

Photographer

Musuk Nolte

Panos Pictures, Bertha Foundation
05 October, 2024

A young man brings food to his mother who lives in the village of Manacapuru. The village was once accessible by boat, but because of the drought, he must walk 2 kilometers along the dry riverbed of the Solimões River to reach her. Amazonas, Brazil. 

The Amazon River is experiencing record low-water levels due to severe drought intensified by climate change. This ecological crisis threatens biodiversity, disrupts ecosystems, and impacts local communities reliant on rivers for survival. As droughts intensify, many settlers face the difficult choice of abandoning their land and livelihoods for urban areas, changing the social fabric of this region permanently. This project makes the effects of climate change, which can so often be abstract or difficult to represent, appear as a tangible and concrete reality shaping the futures of vulnerable communities closely connected with the natural world.
 

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Musuk Nolte
About the photographer

Musuk Nolte (b.1988) is a photographer and editor born in Mexico City, Mexico. His work combines documentary and artistic photography to explore social issues, including memory and environmental degradation. He frequently collaborates with communities and cultures from the Andean and Amazonian regions. Nolte ho...

Read the full biography
Technical information
Shutter Speed

1/2000

ISO

200

Camera

GFX50S II

Jury comment

The jury felt this project was critical to highlight, as it documents unprecedented drought in the Amazon and its profound impact on communities connected to natural cycles. This work powerfully illustrates the consequences of climate change— landscapes transformed, livelihoods disrupted, and the urgent need for adaptation. The striking contrast of dry, desert-like scenes in the world's largest rainforest makes the absence of water hauntingly visible. The photographer captures the scale of environmental change while centering the human experience, offering a compelling visual narrative of a rapidly shifting reality.