Based on the best scientific data available, the unprecedented Amazon Water Impact Index draws together monitoring and research data to identify the most vulnerable areas of the Brazilian rainforest. According to the index, 20% of the 11,216 Brazilian Amazon microbasins have an impact considered high, very high or extreme; half of these watersheds are affected by hydroelectric plants.
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Brazil Scientists See Signs of New Virus Mutations Amid Outbreak Bloomberg 1/15/2021 Marisa Wanzeller, Luana Vicentina and Caroline Aragaki
(Bloomberg) Brazil researchers are warning that a new coronavirus strain spotted just days ago could be aggravating an outbreak in Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon rain-forest.
Experts are willing to infer the surge in cases that’s left Manaus hospitals without available beds and oxygen is tied to the new strain, but haven’t yet been able to confirm the suspicion. While the variant seems to be more transmissible, a half a dozen researchers say there aren’t enough studies yet to say it’s responsible for the faster spread, and no evidence on whether it causes a more severe form of the Covid-19.