November 1, 2023

09:11

Daleth Oliveira – From Cenarium Amazon Magazine

BELÉM (PA) – Data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) shows that the state of Pará is the champion in fires in October. A total of 11,150 fires were recorded from the 1st to the 31st. The number represents almost 30% of the total in Brazil in the same period – 39,099.

Behind Pará are the other states of Maranhão (4,280), Piauí (3,939), Amazonas (3,799) and Mato Grosso (3,265) in the list of the five with the highest number of fires.

In a statement, the Government of Pará, through the Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainability (SEMAS), said that it monitors the occurrence of burn-offs and fires in the state, providing data for the Fire Department and Civil Defense to act in the field.

“Teams in the field are also combating deforestation through operations Curupira and Amazônia Agora. The El Niño phenomenon has caused Pará to face a period of low rainfall, which leads to drought and dry rivers”, says the statement from Semas.

The Pará Fire Department and the State Civil Defense Coordination say that in October alone, 1,021 vegetation fires were put out.

Pará is also the 2023 champion

Pará is also the state with the most fires in 2023, considering Inpe data from January 1 to October 30. During this period, 30,891 fires were recorded, 20% of the total in Brazil – 15,0994.

Although high, the number of fires in Pará this year is lower than that recorded in the same period in 2022, when there were 35,034 outbreaks.

Smoke from Pará covers Manaus

The government of Amazonas stated on September 27 that the fires in Pará have affected the population of Amazonas, especially the Metropolitan Region of Manaus (RMM), which has seen smoke in the air in recent weeks.

“Since September 11, environmental and security forces from the state and federal government have been stepping up their efforts to combat the fires in the Metropolitan Region of Manaus (RMM). However, the smoke over the city does not depend solely on controlling the number of outbreaks in a single location, and may also be influenced by other states,” says the statement published on social media.

According to Kleber Ataíde, a specialized technical advisor at the National Meteorological Institute (Inmet), the weather conditions in October influenced the smoke droplets from Pará reaching the capital of Amazonas.

“In El Niño years, the wind pattern in the Amazon is altered. The trade winds, which normally blow from east to west, become weaker or even reverse direction. This is because the warming of the waters of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, which is one of the main factors behind El Niño, alters the global atmospheric circulation”, explains the expert.

Kleber also explains that the pattern of wind circulation in the region during the dry season is an important factor in the increase in fires.

“During the dry season, the trade winds can reverse direction, blowing from west to east. This can lead to an increase in winds in the Amazon, which can contribute to the spread of forest fires”, concludes the Inmet technician.

Read more: Indigenous people denounce illegal burning in TI Sawre Muybu in Pará

Edited by Jefferson Ramos
Reviewed by Adriana Gonzaga