Amazon Fires Reach Alarming Levels Threatening Global Climate

Imazon is a non-profit organization mainly focused on projects and research in the Amazon region

The wetland regions of Pantanal in South America and Brazil’s Amazon rainforest have experienced their worst wildfires in almost two decades. This information was given by the climate change monitoring service of the EU. 

According to data, about tens of thousands of fires rage around the country and half of which are known to take place in the Amazon rainforest. Due to the fires the area’s vast stores of carbon are threatened which in turn sends the damaged greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The fire destroyed almost 2.4 million hectares of fields, pastures and forest in the Amazon between June and August. 

According to the data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), there were over 95,000 hot spots in total in the Amazon biome this year to September 18. The country’s rainforest and wetland fires have continuously released more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than usual, shattering regional and national records and affecting the quality of the air in a large portion of South America.

In 2021 the phenomenon was first taken into consideration with billions of ton of carbon dioxide amounting due to the release of the emissions. Mainly due to the fires the forest becomes a main source of carbon dioxide CO2. 

So far the cumulative emissions have reached almost 183 megatons as of September 19 this year. This figure follows a path that is similar to the previous record which was set in 2007. Due to the emissions from the Amazon region especially in the states of Amazonas and Mato Grosso do Sul, September has accounted for about 65 megatons of the total alone. This is the region where most of the Pantanal wetlands are located and the annual cumulative total estimated carbon emissions are the highest in the 22 years. 

Although during the dry season in the country fires are common, this year’s abnormality has raised a red flag for the experts. Imazon is a non-profit organization mainly focused on projects and research in the Amazon region. The executive director of Imazon, Ritaumaria Pereira stated that the timing and the duration of the fire is causing some worry. Things are out of control she said and the reason behind which is known to be climate change. 

Bolivia has also been battling record wildfires, with carbon emissions reaching 76 megatons, surpassing the previous yearly high of 73 megatons established in 2010. September alone accounted for 32 megatons. According to experts, the flames were fueled by unusually high, long-term drought, as well as other climatological conditions, which likely contributed to the considerably increased magnitude of fire emissions, smoke, and air quality consequences.

Therefore the carbon storage and evaporative cooling that benefits the global climate cannot be replaced by what prior replaces when the forest burns. The Amazon forest is the critical part and a major influence of the global climate system. The temperature of Earth can get warmer by a degree Celsius to add on the already dangerous temperature without the Amazon forests. Among many other causes, deforestation and fossil fuel burning have already lifted the average temperature of the globe by almost 1.3 degree Celsius since before industrialization. 

Around 40% of the fires in Brazil occur in areas of primary, or undisturbed, vegetation. The rest are primarily in deforested areas. Deforestation is lower than in previous years, indicating that the area is prepared to burn due to the hot, dry weather.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said this week that 514 million reais ($95 million) will be allocated to emergency measures such as additional investigations and the hiring of professional firemen.

During the start of the third term of his office, last year, the President returned to the international stage making a promise to bolster protections for the Amazon. He also promised to spark a green transition of the economy in Brazil and shield tribal lands from resource extraction. Deforestation decreased, and an initiative to establish rules for creating sustainable fuels was approved, indicating progress toward a cleaner-energy future.

However, the Amazon situation may provide a hurdle when he travels to the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday. “Lula is attempting to convince the world that Brazil is a climate leader. However, there is a gap between the real activities on the ground,” said Manoela Machado, a post-doctoral researcher at the Woodwell Climate Research Centre who researches fire risk drivers in the Amazon.