Is Amazonian rainforest a myth?


I saw the picture while reading about Amazon's latest crisis. Some parts of Brazil are currently experiencing severe drought. The situation is so bad that water level at parts of the mighty Amazon River dropped below its seasonal normal.

This is more frightening considering the fact that water level dropped five feet 35 miles from Manaus while the Amazon near Manaus looks something like this:



Both pictures are not mine and I hope fair use is applicable for the first photo. The credit for the first reads AP Photo/A Critica, Euzivaldo Queiroz. The second is a public domain media taken from Wikipedia.