BRASILIA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's government is preparing a task force to provide emergency assistance to inhabitants in the Amazon region hit by a severe drought that has impacted the rivers that are their life support, Environment Minister Marina Silva said.
Low river levels and hotter waters have killed masses of fish seen floating on river surfaces, contaminating the drinking water, she said.
The drought in the Amazon, like the flooding in the south of Brazil, results from the El Niño phenomenon, which warms the surface water in the Pacific Ocean.
Silva said this was the effect of a periodic El Niño mixing with changes in weather patterns brought by global warming.
Worsened by climate change, this combination has caused drought not seen before in the Amazon and "is incomparably stronger and could happen more frequently," she added.
Persons:
Marina Silva, Bruno Kelly, Silva, Lisandra Paraguassu, Anthony Boadle, Alistair Bell, Jamie Freed
Organizations:
Environment, Reuters, REUTERS, Air Force, Thomson
Locations:
BRASILIA, Port, Manaus, Rio, Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brazil, Acre