Global warming was primary cause of unprecedented Amazon drought, study finds Human-induced global warming, and not El Niño, was the primary driver of the severe drought in the Amazon last year that sent rivers to record lows, isolated hundreds of river communities and killed dozens of endangered dolphins. AP News

...Both climate change and El Niño contributed about equally to a reduction in rainfall. But higher global temperatures were the biggest reason for the drought, according to World Weather Attribution, an initiative that brings together climate scientists to rapidly analyze extreme events and their possible connections to climate change.

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