Brazil: Fires impact 11.39 million hectares this year
From January to August 2024, fires in Brazil have ravaged 11.39 million hectares, according to the Mapbiomas Fire Monitor data released on Thursday (Sep. 12). Of this total, 5.65 million hectares were burned in August alone, accounting for 49 percent of the year's total.
In the first eight months of the year, fires spread mainly in areas of native vegetation, which accounted for 70 percent of the total burned area. The countryside was the most affected area, representing 24.7 percent of the total. Savannahs, forest formations, and flooded fields were also heavily impacted, accounting for 17.9 percent, 16.4 percent, and 9.5 percent of the burned area, respectively. Pastures were affected as well, comprising 21.1 percent of the total area burned.
During this period, the states of Mato Grosso, Roraima, and Pará were the hardest hit, accounting for over half (52%) of the total burned area. These three Amazonian states experienced the most significant impact, with fires consuming 5.4 million hectares of the biome in the first eight months of 2024.
August
By August 2024, fires had burned 1.22 million hectares of the Pantanal, marking a 249 percent increase compared to the average annual area affected over the previous five years. The Atlantic Forest experienced 615,000 hectares of fire damage, while the Caatinga saw 51,000 hectares affected. In contrast, only 2,700 hectares of the Pampas were burned during this eight-month period.
Comparing August 2023 to August 2024, fires affected 3.3 million more hectares this year, a 149 percent increase. According to the institution, this marks the worst August on record since the Fire Monitor series began in 2019.
The states of Mato Grosso, Pará, and Mato Grosso do Sul were the hardest hit during the month. Notably, the state of São Paulo saw a staggering 2,510 percent increase in the number of fires in August compared to the average over the past six years. This year, 370,400 hectares were burned in São Paulo, an increase of 356,000 hectares compared to the average burned area in August over the past six years.
“Most of the fires observed in São Paulo originated in agricultural areas, with sugar cane plantations being the most affected,” says researcher Natália Crusco.
The Cerrado and Amazon biomes were the most affected, accounting for 43 percent and 35 percent of the total burned area in Brazil during the period, respectively.
According to Vera Arruda, the technical coordinator of the Fire Monitor, the increase in fires in the Cerrado was alarming in August. “The biome, highly vulnerable during droughts, experienced the largest extent of fires in the past six years, reflecting the deteriorating air quality in the cities,” she noted.
