julho, 02 2024

By WWF-Brazil

In the first six months of 2024, the main Brazilian biomes broke records in the number of wildfires. The Pantanal and Cerrado have the highest number of fire outbreaks ever recorded in the period since 1998, when the fires began to be monitored by satellites by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). In the Amazon, the number of fire outbreaks in the first half of 2024 is the highest in the last 20 years.

In almost all Brazilian biomes there was an increase in the number of fires in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2023. The only exception is Pampa, which has been hit by devastating rains.

In the Pantanal, between January 1st and June 23rd, 3,262 fire outbreaks were detected, a number more than 22 times higher than that recorded in the same period last year (+2,134%). It is the highest number in INPE's historical series, which began in 1998.

With the dry season still at the beginning - the largest number of fires usually occurs between August and October, with a peak in September - the Pantanal has already had more fire spots than in 2020, when 2,534 fire outbreaks were recorded between January 1st and June 30th . That year, uncontrolled fires consumed a third of the biome's area and are estimated to have killed more than 17 million vertebrate animals.

Although the numbers for the first half of the year have already surpassed those of 2020, this does not mean that a catastrophe like that of that year is inescapable. Environmentalists warn that the result in 2024 will depend on the engagement of the population, which should not set fires in new areas, and the action of public authorities in combating active fire outbreaks. In 2020, 60% of fires occurred between the beginning of August and the end of September and the year ended with 22,116 fire outbreaks recorded.

According to experts, the increase in fires in the Pantanal in 2024 is mainly associated with the climate crisis, as the biome is experiencing a severe drought. The scarce and irregular rains in the first months of 2024 were insufficient to overflow the rivers and connect lagoons and the Paraguay River, the main river in the biome, reached very low levels for this time of year. 

"A combination of factors have contributed to the increase in fires in the Pantanal. We can highlight climate change, deforestation in the Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal, in addition to the action of El Niño, which brings a drier period in the case of Central- Western Brazil. All these elements directly affect the rain cycle and water accumulation in the territory," says Cyntia Santos, Conservation analyst at WWF-Brazil.

However, in addition to climate change, fires in the Pantanal are also associated with human action in the Cerrado, as the biomes are interconnected. Deforestation in the Cerrado Plateau, where the headwaters of the rivers that supply the Pantanal Plain are located, contributes to the extreme drought in the Pantanal.

Cyntia Santos states that a systemic look at the biome is necessary. “The headwaters of the Pantanal, for instance, are priority areas for the preservation and restoration of the biome, and they are located in the Cerrado, which connects to very important areas of the Amazon, and all these biomes have been systematically deforested. We need a joint effort to control deforestation, to recover degraded areas, so that we can have more resilience for species that face adverse weather conditions,” she says.

In the Cerrado, between January 1st and June 23rd, 12,097 fire outbreaks were detected, an increase of 32% compared to the same period in 2023. It is also the highest number in the historical series started in 1998. There were 4,085 fire outbreaks in the first 23rd day of June. In the first half of this year, 53.3% of the fires recorded in the Cerrado occurred in the four states of Matopiba (Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia), where the country's main agricultural expansion frontier is currently located.

All Matopiba states had an increase in the number of fire outbreaks in Cerrado areas, between January 1st and June 23rd, compared to the averages for the same period in the previous four years: +60% in Tocantins (3,178 outbreaks) +43 % in Maranhão (1,927 outbreaks), +30% in Piauí (518 outbreaks) and +15% in Bahia (821 outbreaks).

Another state where INPE's Queimadas Program showed a significant increase in the number of outbreaks in the Cerrado biome is Mato Grosso. The state recorded  2,441 fire outbreaks between January 1st and June 23rd, an increase of 85% compared to last year, and which represents more than 20% of the total fire outbreaks in the Cerrado, just after Tocantins state (26%).

In the Cerrado, according to experts, the increase in the number of fires is related to the combination of climate change and the increase in deforestation, which in turn is associated with the expansion of areas used for agriculture. “The increase in fires in the biome is related to deforestation in the region, but also to the climate crisis. The Cerrado has predominantly savanna vegetation, characterised by a seasonal climate with periods of drought and rain. However, human practices have contributed significantly to climate change in this area,” highlights Daniel Silva, Conservation specialist at WWF-Brazil.

In the Amazon, 12,696 fire outbreaks were detected between January 1st and June 23rd, an increase of 76% compared to the same period last year and the highest value recorded since 2004.
In the entire Inpe historical series, which began in 1998, the number of fires in 2024 in the Amazon, in the first six months of the year, was only surpassed in the years 2003 and 2004, when 14,667 and 14,486 fire outbreaks were recorded, respectively, in that period.

Between 2003 and 2004, however, deforestation rates in the Amazon were among the highest in the biome's history. In 2024, the scenario is very different: the highest number of fires in two decades occurs after two consecutive years of falling deforestation.

According to experts, in general, wildfires in the Amazon are linked to deforestation, as fire is used to “clean” areas where the forest or savannah has been cut down. However, in 2024 the combination of a drop in deforestation and a striking increase in fires suggests that the fires this time are associated with the climate crisis. The biome has been experiencing a severe drought since 2023.