A continent ablaze: South America surpasses record for wildfires

In Brazil, a drought that began last year has become the worst on record, according to national disaster monitoring agency Cemaden.

“In general, the 2023-2024 drought is the most intense, long-lasting in some regions and extensive in recent history, at least in the data since 1950,” said Ana Paula Cunha, a drought researcher with Cemaden.

CANADA’S WILDFIRES: Visit The Weather Network’s wildfire hub to keep up with the latest on the active start to wildfire season across Canada.

The greatest number of fires this month is in Brazil and Bolivia, followed by Peru, Argentina and Paraguay, according to Inpe data. Unusually intense fires that hit Venezuela, Guyana and Colombia earlier in the year contributed to the record but have largely subsided.

Fire from deforestation in the Amazon create particularly intense smoke because of the density of the vegetation burning, Longo said.

FILE PHOTO: A tree burns during a fire rising in Amazon rainforest in Apui, Amazonas state, Brazil, August 8, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

“The sensation you get flying next to one of these plumes is like that of an atomic mushroom cloud,” said Longo of Inpe.

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Publish date : 2024-09-14 04:01:00

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