Brazil faced a dramatic increase in wildfires in February, with the area of burned land skyrocketing by 410% to 950,300 hectares from the previous year.
This surge in fire incidents was detailed in a report by the Fire Monitor, part of the MapBiomas Fire network, and coordinated by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM).
The report identifies native vegetation, notably Amazon and Cerrado, as major fire-affected areas, impacting 750,000 hectares combined.
Specifically, the Amazon biome endured the most severe impact, with February witnessing 898,600 hectares consumed by fire.
This escalation continued into the first two months of the year, with the cumulative affected area reaching 1.8 million hectares.
This represented a stark 433% increase compared to the same timeframe in 2023.
Roraima emerged as the epicenter of this year’s fire crisis, with 11 of its municipalities heavily impacted.
The state contributes over half of Brazil’s burned area, with 1 million hectares scorched in 2024.
Following Roraima, the states of Pará and Amazonas also reported significant fire damage.
Fires in Roraima linked to prolonged dry season worsened by El Niño, as per IPAM researcher Felipe Martenexen.
Moreover, the Cerrado biome saw its own alarming rise in fire incidents, with a 152% increase in burned areas in the initial two months, reaching 61,000 hectares.
February saw a 147% rise in Cerrado fire damage compared to the previous year, underscoring Brazil’s wildfire management challenge.