There were 32,017 fire hot spots in the Amazon, an increase of about 60% compared to the same month last year, according to data from the Queimadas, from the National Institute for Space Research’s Queimadas.
In the Pantanal, the increase was 180% in relation to September 2019. Compared to the previous record of September (2007), the number registered in 2020 is 47% higher, and, in comparison with the previous general record of the wetland biome, the value of 2020 is 35% higher.
The Pantanal is facing its worst drought in 60 years, and the severe drought might continue for up to five years, according to the National Secretariat for Civil Defense and Protection.
The flames in this biome have already compromised animal conservation projects, such as blue macaws and jaguars.
Meanwhile, despite the high number of fires, the Amazon has had an average month of fires, pulled up by extremely high values of past decades.
Despite the critical situation and public data on the subject, the Jair Bolsonaro government (without a party) continues to deny the problem and has even lied about the fires.
Bolsonaro, in addition to criticizing the disclosure of data on fires and blaming NGOs without evidence, associates the point with sovereignty issues and uses general conservation data from the country to try to counter charges, without mentioning the current moment or actions of his own administration.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon