Smoke from fires in the Amazon rainforest, Cerrado savannah, Pantanal wetland, and Sao Paulo state has blanketed Brazil's modernist capital, Brasilia, causing a smog crisis in the central part of the country. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Brazil's fire monitoring center to address the situation, attributing the fires to human activity rather than natural causes.
Fire alerts in Sao Paulo state have surged this month, with nearly 3,500 fires reported, the highest monthly total since data collection began in 1998. A significant number of fires on a single day raised suspicions of a coordinated attack. Fortunately, a cold front brought relief with declining temperatures and rain, extinguishing all fires in the region.
Brasilia experienced very unhealthy air quality levels for the first time, prompting the cancellation of public events and temporary closure of the nearby Goiania airport. In the Amazon cities of Manaus, Porto Velho, and Rio Branco, residents have been enduring smoke for weeks, although receiving less official and media attention due to the annual recurrence of such events.
In Sao Paulo state, tragic incidents occurred, including the deaths of two industrial plant employees and the destruction of 59,000 hectares of sugar cane plantations. Additionally, a federal firefighter lost his life while battling fires in the Amazon's Capoto Jarina Indigenous Territory.
Researcher Karla Longo from the National Institute for Space Research explained that climatic conditions facilitated the spread of smoke from the Amazon, Pantanal, and Cerrado to regions like Sao Paulo and Brasilia. While the number of wildfires in Brazil this year is not unusual, the burned areas are significantly larger than average, with an area equivalent to Italy already affected from January to July.
Brazil's reliance on fires for deforestation and pasture management contributes significantly to its carbon emissions, making it the world's fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The country accounts for almost 3% of global emissions, highlighting the environmental impact of these practices.
