Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal break new wildfire records in September

outubro, 03 2024

Fire outbreaks increased by 56% in the Amazon, 121% in the Cerrado and 620% in the Pantanal, compared to last year
By WWF-Brasil 

The main Brazilian biomes saw an increase in the number of wildfires in September, compared to the outbreaks recorded in the same month in 2023, according to data from the BDQueimadas Program of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). In the accumulated total for 2024, between January 1 and September 30, the Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal also had more fires than in the same period last year.

In September, 41,463 fire outbreaks were recorded in the Amazon, an increase of 56.7% compared to September 2023 (26,448 outbreaks). The number is close to that recorded in 2022 (41,292 outbreaks) and 53% higher than the average number of fire outbreaks in the month of September in the previous five years (2019-2023), which is 27,283.

In the year to date, between January 1 and September 30, 104,652 fire outbreaks were recorded in the Amazon, an increase of 84% compared to the same period in 2023 (56,903 fire outbreaks). This is the highest number of fires recorded in the first nine months of the year since 2007, when 132,351 fire spots hit the biome. The 2024 figure is 53.3% higher than the average for the previous five years (2019-2023), which is 68,258 fires for the period from January 1 to September 30.

Cerrado

In the Cerrado, 29,319 fire outbreaks were recorded in September, representing an increase of 121,6% compared to September 2023 (13,230 outbreaks). This is the worst month of September since 2012, when 30,053 outbreaks were recorded. The number of outbreaks in September 2024 is 60% higher than the average for the month in the previous five years (18,322 outbreaks).

In the year to date, the Cerrado has had 68,631 fire outbreaks recorded, which corresponds to an increase of 87,5% compared to the first nine months of 2023, when 36,600 outbreaks were recorded. The accumulated value in 2024 is the highest for the period since 2012, when 69,547 fire outbreaks were recorded. It is also 52.3% higher than the average of the previous five years for the period, which is 45,057 outbreaks between January 1 and September 30.

“We are experiencing more severe climate conditions. From January to now, Brazil has burned more than twice as much as the same period last year,” says Daniel Silva, a conservation specialist at WWF-Brazil.

According to him, a recent survey conducted by Mapbiomas and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) indicates that 2.8 million hectares of the fire outbreaks occurred on private land.

“The situation requires a more conscious attitude from large producers regarding the use of fire and expansion of areas for production. We urgently need to stop deforestation and the degradation of ecosystems to address the loss of biodiversity and the effects of the climate crisis,” says Silva.

Pantanal

The Pantanal had 2,688 fire outbreaks in September, a figure 620% higher than that recorded in September 2023 (373 outbreaks). As a result, the biome had its worst September since 2021, when 2,954 outbreaks were recorded. The number is 8.3% lower than the September average in the previous five years (2,912 outbreaks). However, this average is driven upwards by the more than 8,000 outbreaks recorded in September 2020, the year in which the Pantanal was hit by historic fires that consumed 30% of the biome's area.

In the year to date, from January 1 to September 30, the Pantanal had 11,855 fire outbreaks recorded, a value 1,433% higher than that recorded in the first nine months of last year (773 outbreaks).

The more than 11,000 fires recorded in 2024 are the second worst number for the first nine months of the year in the Pantanal in the entire historical series that began in 1998, second only to 2020, when 17,577 fires were recorded in the period. The 2024 figure is also 93.4% higher than the average number of fire spots in this period in the previous five years (2019-2023), which is 6,130 outbreaks.

According to Cyntia Santos, Conservation Analyst at WWF-Brazil, although with lower numbers compared to previous months, the Pantanal continues to have many fire outbreaks, most of them in the state of Mato Grosso.

“The fires that affect cross-border areas in Bolivia, which have already reached more than 5 million hectares, pose an imminent threat that needs to be tackled with a transnational effort,” says Cyntia. “The consequences of the fires are many and varied, from the loss of biodiversity to the maintenance of high temperatures, in addition to directly affecting the health of local people due to smoke pollution associated with low air humidity.”
 
Fire in the National Park of Brasília in September 2024, in the Brazilian Cerrado.
© Jacqueline Lisboa / WWF-Brasil
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