The Amazon accounts for the largest share of fires, with 56.5%; the country had its worst August in 14 years and September saw 20,734 fires
Brazil records 2,758 fire outbreaks on Friday (September 6, 2024), according to consolidated data from the BDQueimadas system Inpe (National Institute for Space Research). The Amazon accounts for the largest share of occurrences, with 1,158 – or 56.5%.
The state of Mato Grosso had the highest number of fires, with 933 outbreaks recorded in 24 hours. It is followed by Pará (415) and Amazonas (282). The country recorded 20,734 fire outbreaks between September 1 and 6.
All 6 biomes in Brazil recorded fire incidence. The Cerrado had the 2nd highest number, with 811 outbreaks – 29.4% of the total.
Brazil ended August 2024 with the worst number of fires in 14 years. There were 68,635 occurrences – the 5th highest in the historical series, which began in 1998. It was an increase of 144% compared to the same period in 2023.
The country is experiencing a historic drought, with the worst dry spell in 44 years, according to Cemaden (National Center for Monitoring and Alerts for Natural Disasters), linked to MCTI (Ministry of Science and Technology).
Understand the causes:
The drought and dry spells that affect most municipalities are common in the Brazilian winter. The season began in June and continues until the end of September. However, the intensity of the droughts this year is atypical. There are two factors that have the greatest impact on the situation:
- strong heat waves – there have been 6 since the start of the season, according to the Cemaden (National Center for Monitoring and Alerts for Natural Disasters). On the other hand, there were only 4 cold waves;
- anticipation of drought – In some regions of Brazil, the dry season began before winter. In the Amazon, for example, the drought intensified almost 1 month earlier than expected, at the beginning of June.
DROUGHT IN THE AMAZON
In the Amazon region, drought is taking on worrying forms. Amazonian municipalities are facing about a year of drought. This is the longest drought ever recorded. There are 3 main causes:
- El Niño intensity – the rainfall regime was impacted by the phenomenon that warmed the waters of the Pacific Ocean. It peaked at the beginning of this year and influenced the beginning of the drought;
- abnormal warming of the waters of the North Tropical Atlantic – the temperature in the maritime region, which is above South America, increased by 1.2 °C to 1.4 °C in 2023 and 2024;
- record global temperatures – In July, the world broke the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in history. The scenario creates conditions for stronger heat waves.
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