STORY:: Fires in Brazil’s wetlands increase almost tenfold this year to highest levels since 2020
:: These numbers are alarming as the region heads into its riskiest wildfire season.
::Corumba, Brazil
:: June 9, 2024
The fire, the result of light rains since late last year that disrupted the usual seasonal flooding and left more of the region vulnerable to fires, started earlier in June and has grown almost tenfold so far this year to reach the highest levels since 2020, when the biome suffered its worst fires on record.
Satellite data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) showed a 980% increase in the number of fires in the Pantanal through June 5, compared to the same period last year. The numbers have raised alarms as the region heads into its riskiest wildfire season, which typically begins in July and peaks in August and September.
The World Wildlife Foundation Brazil has expressed concerns that the ongoing fires could mirror those of 2020, when, according to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, 16% of the entire Brazilian Pantanal was incinerated. The Pantanal wetlands are about 10 times the size of the Florida Everglades and are home to jaguars, tapirs, caimans, anacondas and giant anteaters.
