Brasília [Brazil], Brazil's Pantanal, renowned as the largest tropical wetland on the planet, is currently engulfed in an unprecedented wave of fires, setting severe new records for June, CNN reported.
Aerial images of this vast expanse show rising smoke and intense, fiery hues of fire, while a closer inspection of the charred remains reveals a horrifying sight.
Brazil's National Institute of Space Research (INPE) has recorded 733 fires in the Pantanal biome so far in June alone. This figure surpasses the previous record set in 2005, which was 435 fires in the entire month of June.
Mato Grosso do Sul state, which covers 60 per cent of the Pantanal, is facing a dangerous "danger" warning due to the impending heatwave, with temperatures predicted to rise 5oC above average over the next three to five days , as the Brazilian National Meteorology warns.Institute (INMET), as reported by CNN.
The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Brazil has issued a dire forecast, warning that 2024 could potentially become the worst year on record for the Pantanal. The dry season has just begun, yet based on INPE data, the number of fires recorded this year has increased by a staggering 898 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
Cynthia Santos, WWF Brazil's conservation analyst, stressed the urgent need for action, saying, "It is essential to act quickly to strengthen [fire] brigades and count, with the support of local communities, to avoid a disaster."
The ecological balance of the Pantanal depends on what scientists call a "flood pulse."During the wet season from November to March, vast parts of this plain are submerged, only to subside during the dry months from April to September. This cyclical flooding turns the Pantanal into a unique biome where extensive areas alternate between terrestrial and aquatic habitats.
Wetlands such as the Pantanal are important carbon sinks, capable of absorbing and sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Covering approximately 200,000 square kilometers, the Pantanal constitutes about 3 percent of the world's wetlands and plays a vital role in the global carbon cycle.
According to CNN, the destruction caused by these fires releases substantial amounts of greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming.According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Pantanal boasts an unparalleled concentration of biodiversity in South America, surpassing even its more famous neighbor, the Amazon. André Luiz Siqueira, CEO of ECOA, an environmental NGO based in Mato Grosso do Sul, underlined its importance, saying, "The Pantanal is very important for the planet, it contains unique wild areas that are fundamental to life on Earth."
This vast wetland serves as a sanctuary for many endangered and endemic species, including the jaguar, capybara, black caiman, giant otter and hyacinth macaw. Furthermore, it serves as an important stopover for around 180 species of migratory birds.
The Pantanal is currently facing what experts describe as a "hydrological crisis", exacerbated by an intense drought starting in 2023 and, as highlighted by ECOA, the ongoing El Niño phenomenon. It has become even more complicated.While sporadic wildfires in the Pantanal are a natural phenomenon, some plant species in the area have developed adaptations to withstand fire, such as thick bark or seeds encased in hard shells.
In 2020, wildfires destroyed unique habitats and disrupted the livelihoods of the Pantanal's diverse indigenous communities, underscoring the deep impact of these infernos on both the environment and human societies, CNN reported.
Aerial images of this vast expanse show rising smoke and intense, fiery hues of fire, while a closer inspection of the charred remains reveals a horrifying sight.
Brazil's National Institute of Space Research (INPE) has recorded 733 fires in the Pantanal biome so far in June alone. This figure surpasses the previous record set in 2005, which was 435 fires in the entire month of June.
Mato Grosso do Sul state, which covers 60 per cent of the Pantanal, is facing a dangerous "danger" warning due to the impending heatwave, with temperatures predicted to rise 5oC above average over the next three to five days , as the Brazilian National Meteorology warns.Institute (INMET), as reported by CNN.
The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Brazil has issued a dire forecast, warning that 2024 could potentially become the worst year on record for the Pantanal. The dry season has just begun, yet based on INPE data, the number of fires recorded this year has increased by a staggering 898 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
Cynthia Santos, WWF Brazil's conservation analyst, stressed the urgent need for action, saying, "It is essential to act quickly to strengthen [fire] brigades and count, with the support of local communities, to avoid a disaster."
The ecological balance of the Pantanal depends on what scientists call a "flood pulse."During the wet season from November to March, vast parts of this plain are submerged, only to subside during the dry months from April to September. This cyclical flooding turns the Pantanal into a unique biome where extensive areas alternate between terrestrial and aquatic habitats.
Wetlands such as the Pantanal are important carbon sinks, capable of absorbing and sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Covering approximately 200,000 square kilometers, the Pantanal constitutes about 3 percent of the world's wetlands and plays a vital role in the global carbon cycle.
According to CNN, the destruction caused by these fires releases substantial amounts of greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming.According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Pantanal boasts an unparalleled concentration of biodiversity in South America, surpassing even its more famous neighbor, the Amazon. André Luiz Siqueira, CEO of ECOA, an environmental NGO based in Mato Grosso do Sul, underlined its importance, saying, "The Pantanal is very important for the planet, it contains unique wild areas that are fundamental to life on Earth."
This vast wetland serves as a sanctuary for many endangered and endemic species, including the jaguar, capybara, black caiman, giant otter and hyacinth macaw. Furthermore, it serves as an important stopover for around 180 species of migratory birds.
The Pantanal is currently facing what experts describe as a "hydrological crisis", exacerbated by an intense drought starting in 2023 and, as highlighted by ECOA, the ongoing El Niño phenomenon. It has become even more complicated.While sporadic wildfires in the Pantanal are a natural phenomenon, some plant species in the area have developed adaptations to withstand fire, such as thick bark or seeds encased in hard shells.
In 2020, wildfires destroyed unique habitats and disrupted the livelihoods of the Pantanal's diverse indigenous communities, underscoring the deep impact of these infernos on both the environment and human societies, CNN reported.
