Fires in Brazilian Amazon set a bleak record increasing 42% in one year

This was claimed by the National Institute for Space Research. The Brazilian Amazon has experienced about 1 million fires in the past five years. Worst drought in 74 years played a crucial role

by Matteo Cavallito

 

In 2024, the Brazilian Amazon recorded the highest number of fires in 17 years. This was reported by Agence France-Presse, among others, quoting data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), a government agency. In total, the agency said based on satellite surveys, 140,328 fire incidents were observed last year, 42 percent more than in 2023 when 98,634 fires were recorde. Despite this, however, the total area affected by the phenomenon may be less than in the past.

In Amazon 1 million fires in 5 years

The analysis on the medium term is significant. Also according to the Institute, reported by the government news agency Agência Brasil, between 2020 and 2024 Brazil recorded 1 million fires. The negative record in 2024 is linked to the presence of an exceptional drought, the worst in 74 years. The flames were mainly concentrated in the five states that make up the Amazon region with more than 620 thousand cases.

The worst figure was in Pará with about 200 thousand fires. This is followed by Mato Grosso (over 17 thousand), Amazonas (98 thousand), Maranhão (97 thousand), and Tocantins (over 60 thousand).

Between 2023 and 2024, all five states showed an increase in the phenomenon with the highest figure found in Mato Grosso (+130%). The outbreaks coincide with areas of agricultural expansion, later dedicated to soybean cultivation and grazing, but also with areas affected by land speculation and mining.

Soil, deforestation and drought

There is an increasingly strong link between drought, climate and human activities. As early as two years ago, for example, a Chinese study published in the journal Science noted how flash drought, or the phenomenon of sudden water shortage, was becoming increasingly common on a global scale precisely because of climate change.

The phenomenon, which would now affect three-fourths of the global regions identified by the UN Special Report on Extreme Events, would be particularly affected by land interventions. As the very case of the Amazon would show.

“Exposure to drought impacts was compounded by historical land, water, and energy management practices including deforestation, destruction of vegetation, fires, biomass burning, corporate farming, cattle ranching and other socio-climate problems,” said the World Weather Attribution, an inter-academic group formed to study the incidence of extreme events. These events “have decreased the water and moisture retention capacity of the land and thus worsened drought conditions.”

A national problem

The problem of fires, in Brazil, is not limited to the Amazon. In 2024, for example, the state of São Paulo recorded relatively low numbers – about 8,700 episodes – but also the greatest acceleration of the phenomenon on a national scale with a 422 percent increase. The growing incidence of fires prompted the government to launch the National Policy for Integrated Fire Management, a federal initiative that will go into effect this year to coordinate efforts between public agencies and private organizations.

The Ministry of Environment has announced that it will allocate 280 million reais (nearly 45 million euros) from the Amazonia Fund to firefighting in addition to the 650 million already provided for this purpose in the federal budget. Other states have initiated similar programs at the local level. The government of Maranhão, in this regard, has reportedly already established an Action Plan to strengthen monitoring of degraded areas, intensifying environmental controls and launching investigations into violations.