Erica Cristina has been "breathing in smoke every day" since a large fire broke out across the river from the city of Corumba, the gateway to Brazil's Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetlands.
The blaze, which filled the bar she owns with soot, is one of hundreds burning in the vast, wildlife-rich Pantanal which is experiencing record fires for this time of year.
"It's chaotic," the 44-year-old told AFP in central-western Corumba, where the fire last week turned the sky bright red.
Originally from Rio de Janeiro, this long-time resident of the Pantanal region said increasing fires were making the situation for residents "worse with the passing of the years."
"Many people lost their homes" in fires since 2020 -- the worst year on record for blazes in the region -- and "the main problems are due to health, respiratory problems," said Cristina.
In the first half of this year, satellites recorded more than 3,300 fires in the region slightly bigger than England, 33 percent more than in 2020.
Experts say that the blazes result from harsh drought linked to climate change and deliberate fires set to expand agricultural land into the forest burning out of control.
The Pantanal, which extends into Bolivia and Paraguay, is home to millions of caimans, parrots, giant otters and the world's highest density of jaguars.
Seasonal flooding across plains, marshes, savannahs and forest areas during the rainy season is crucial to the biodiverse ecosystem.
Environment Minister Marina Silva warned on Monday that the Pantanal was facing "one of the worst situations ever seen."
"We did not have the usual floods or the gap between El Nino and La Nina," two weather phenomena that affect rainfall, she said.
A study published by the MapBiomas network said the wet surface of the Pantanal was 61 percent drier than the historical average last year.
The drought "caused a large amount of organic matter at the combustion point to cause these fires," said Silva, who will visit the region on Friday.
The fires are hitting new records even before the peak of the dry season.
"Strong winds, the fire and the heat usually start in August," but "it hasn't rained in the region for 50 days," Bruno Bellan, a 25-year-old rancher, told AFP.
Bellan has 900 head of cattle on his family farm in Mato Grosso do Sul State, home to much of the wetlands, which declared a state of emergency over the fires on Monday.
His property is two kilometers from one large blaze which firefighters have struggled to access.
"We are worried that the fire will enter the farm and cause destruction. The cattle are afraid and could get lost in the flames," said Bellan.
Retired soldier Naldinei Ivan Ojeda, 53, said he was considering leaving his hometown due to the breathing problems he and his 15-year-old son have experienced.
He points the blame squarely at the people who start the fires, rather than the dry conditions that spur them along.
"There are no accidental fires in the Pantanal. I have never seen a fire come out of nowhere here. Every year, it is the same."
© 2024 AFP
22 Comments
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Moonraker
It gets harder and harder to read this stuff. It's just one damned thing after another. All the beautiful areas I knew from nature programmes when I was a kid 50 years ago are now going up in smoke. The grief is getting unbearable. How do you live with it except by pretending it isn't happening, like so many seem able to do? Or maybe just hating life in all its myriad diversity would be a solution.
NB
This is extreme hypocricy.
virusrex
Yet you could not even make a single argument about the quoted text that clearly contradicts your claim, that would mean the experts are correct and you mistaken.
virusrex
For a variety of reasons, the article even describe this problem. Which of course is not the cause of the increase to record levels, people have initiated fires since prehistoric times, but the reason why these (and other) fires are now out of control is the effect of human activity derived climate change.
With this in mind the people that insist on misrepresenting climate change as false, unimportant or inevitable (depending on which part of the antiscientific propaganda they want to align with) can also be considered as responsible for the huge increase of the damage of the fires, they are also contributing to the worsening of the situation.
Jimizo
I knew,man who had many,personality.
He needed and got help.
NB
This is an extreme type of ad-hominem attack.
NB
You continue your ad-hominem style.
/dev/random
Reacting to human-made CO2 emissions? Yes, indeed. Adults call that "thermodynamics", though.
Gene Hennigh
To some people, these places are no loss because they have been told by their scary leaders tell them that everything's fine, nothing to see here.
But to a lot of us, these national and natural places gave a sense of awe and wonder. But we are called whiners by people without an iota of a sense of beauty.
virusrex
But much more if people acted responsibly in every other way so climate change would not be happening. This would of course have much more important and beneficial consequences at a global scale as well.
NB
When the vegetation of the Pantanal is burning down, it means that it is converted into CO2 and rises up to the atmosphere.
virusrex
As the article clearly explains for anybody that reads it, this is not a consequence of natural processes but human activity.
Raw Beer
Yeah, last year officials were saying that the vast majority of fires were in Canada were started by people. Now why would people want to do this....?
falseflagsteve
Twisted firestarters
falseflagsteve
Moonraker
Might be time to get some professional help.
falseflagsteve
Jomizo
Ah, sad!
gcFd1
Mother Nature doing what she does
gcFd1
This would be a different scenario if people didn't start fires.
falseflagsteve
NB
No it’s not he states he’s suffering from unbearable grief. Being kind and trying to help is considered an attack these days? Defies belief!
gcFd1
That has no relation to people intentionally starting forest fires.
falseflagsteve
NB
Yes from you by presuming my intentions and making an indefensible attack on my good character.
Immature and regressive.
zibala
Absolutely consequences of Mother Nature, from my clear reading of the article.