Brazil’s Wildfires Are a Climate Crisis Warning

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A historic surge in wildfires cloaked Brasilia and Sao Paulo in smoke over the weekend and yesterday, prompting Brazil’s environmental minister to declare the country “at war” with the blazes. Four people have been arrested on suspicion of starting the fires in the state of Sao Paulo, where the blazes have caused disruptions and burned thousands of hectares of farmland. (The Guardian; Reuters)

Our Take

While Brazil deals with a significant number of wildfires every year, the blazes have affected a much wider area than normal this year. The fires became noticeable for many more people over the weekend, as Brasilia—the seat of the federal government—and Sao Paulo—Brazil’s most populous and wealthiest state—were affected.

But while the effects for Brasilia and Sao Paulo have now largely abated, the wildfires remain a problem for three of Brazil’s six major biomes—the Amazon rainforest, the Cerrado savanna and the Pantanal wetland. The latter, a rich area for biodiversity, is particularly concerning, since the Pantanal is normally flooded for most of the year, but has suffered from a prolonged drought that has affected much of Latin America.

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