Most Brazilians live thousands of kilometers from the Amazon, often feeling disconnected from the rainforest as if it were part of another country.
Yet, in August, a smoke corridor from raging fires in the Amazon stretched to Brazil’s southernmost state, proving that what happens in the heart of Brazil’s famous rainforest can have climate repercussions nationwide.
The worrying news is that the first seven months of 2024 recorded more forest fires in the Amazon than the same period in any other year since 2005. While fires can occur naturally, they are more commonly set on purpose to clear land for agriculture and other economic activities.
When far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, known for his pro-agribusiness stance and climate skepticism, left office in 2022, the world seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Under Mr. Bolsonaro’s watch, deforestation in the Amazon reached record levels.
Optimism grew as deforestation decreased under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In the first half of 2024, less than half the forest area was lost when compared to the same period in 2022.
Yet, the road to a truly positive environmental outcome remains long. Brazil, and the world, are not yet out of the (Amazonian) woods.
The last 13 months have all set new temperature records in Brazil. Combined with strikes at the country’s environmental agency and drier conditions brought by the El Niño phenomenon, these rising temperatures have fueled more forest fires than ever before. These fires not only pollute the air but also further degrade the Amazon, the world’s largest carbon sink.
At the other extreme, climate change-related floods ravaged Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul in April and May.
Are the consequences of a warming planet really so distant? One of these days, we may look up at the sky and find the unsettling answer.