{
  "id": 17069116,
  "title": "‘Already feeling it’: Northern Amazon waterfall season ends early, hurting livelihoods",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/already-feeling-it-northern-amazon-waterfall-season-ends-early",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T14:03:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/2026/10/already-feeling-it-northern-amazon-waterfall-season-ends-early-hurting-livelihoods/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the northern Amazon region of Brazil, the annual waterfall season has come to an early end, posing significant challenges to local livelihoods. Tour guide Fredson Guedes, known as \"Tarzan,\" has learned to rely on the natural world for his 55-year career and now faces the absence of the Véu de Noiva waterfall. Situated 50 kilometers from Boa Vista, the waterfall typically welcomes visitors from May to early September during Roraima's rainy season, but by late July in 2026, the water had already disappeared. Geologist and professor Fábio Wankler attributes the abrupt change to an unusually intense \"super El Niño,\" which has caused prolonged and intense periods of drought across the country. Guedes traverses the Branco River twice to reach the waterfall and highlights how this natural feature serves as his road, workspace, and source of income.",
  "summary": "BOA VISTA, Roraima — “For those who live off the river, water isn’t just scenery: It is also a road, work and income.” That is how tour guide Fredson Guedes, known as “Tarzan,” learned to view the natural world around him over the course of his 55 years. “I work entirely with nature and depend […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Northern Amazon waterfall season ends early in 2026.",
    "Véu de Noiva waterfall disappears by late July.",
    "Intense super El Niño causes prolonged drought."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}