{"id":36373,"date":"2025-06-26T10:28:55","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/?p=36373"},"modified":"2025-06-26T10:30:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:30:52","slug":"a-quarter-of-brazil-has-already-burned-forest-fires-have-destroyed-an-area-the-size-of-half-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/2025\/06\/26\/a-quarter-of-brazil-has-already-burned-forest-fires-have-destroyed-an-area-the-size-of-half-the-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"A quarter of Brazil has already burned: Forest fires have destroyed an area the size of half the EU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazil has been hit by devastating fires over the past 40 years, leaving a deep ecological footprint. New analysis by Brazilian organization MapBiomass<\/strong> reveals that since 1985 to 2024<\/strong> was affected by the fire 206 million hectares of land<\/strong> \u2013 which corresponds to almost a quarter of the entire country's area<\/strong>For a better idea: this is an area larger than combined area of the states of Par\u00e1 and Mato Grosso<\/strong>, the two largest and most ecologically valuable states of Brazil.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcc8 Year 2024: Historical maximum<\/h5>\n

The year 2024 brought record high number of fires<\/strong>More than were burned. 30 million hectares<\/strong>, which is about 62 % more<\/strong> than the long-term average (18.5 million ha per year). Up to 15.6 million hectares<\/strong> belonged to Amazon rainforest<\/strong>, which represents more than half of all affected areas<\/strong>It is about the highest annual value in the history of monitoring<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The largest concentration of fires occurred between August and October<\/strong>, with only September being affected 33 % total area<\/strong> per year.<\/p>\n

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\ud83c\udf31 Which areas are burning the most?<\/h6>\n

The fires in Brazil are not only affecting the Amazon, but also other important ecosystems:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Amazonia<\/strong> a Cerrado<\/strong> (savannahs) together made up 86 % of all burned areas<\/strong> since 1985.<\/li>\n
  • IN Pantanal<\/strong> \u2013 the world's largest wetlands \u2013 were burned to 62 % total area<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • Atlantic Forest (Mata Atl\u00e2ntica)<\/strong> recorded in 2024 increase in fires by 261 %<\/strong> compared to the average.<\/li>\n
  • The least affected areas were Caatinga<\/strong> (semi-deserts) and Pampas<\/strong>, but with a high frequency of repeated burning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \n
    \ud83d\udd01 Multiple affected areas<\/h5>\n

    Until 64 % territory<\/strong>, which have been burning for the past 40 years, were affected by the fire repeatedly<\/strong>The worst situation is in Cerrade<\/strong>where some areas are burning more than 16 times<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \ud83c\udf0d Causes: Human activity and climatic factors<\/h5>\n

    Although some fires occur naturally, most originate from human activity<\/strong>The main causes include:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Deforestation and fire setting<\/strong> to clear land for agriculture and livestock.<\/li>\n
    • Expansion of pastures and soybean plantations<\/strong> in areas such as Par\u00e1, Mato Grosso and Maranh\u00e3o.<\/li>\n
    • Climate fluctuations<\/strong>, such as El Ni\u00f1o phenomenon<\/strong>, which causes extreme drought and creates conditions for the rapid spread of fire.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      What is particularly alarming is that in the Amazon in 2024 there were For the first time, fires are more common in natural forests than in pastures<\/strong>This signals that the fire is spreading. deep into preserved ecosystems<\/strong>, and not just to marginally deforested areas.<\/p>\n

      \n
      \ud83d\udea8 Ecological and climate consequences<\/h5>\n

      Fires have dramatic impact on the environment<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Biodiversity loss<\/strong> \u2013 the homes of thousands of plant and animal species are disappearing.<\/li>\n
      • Releasing huge amounts of CO\u2082<\/strong> \u2013 forest fires contribute to global warming.<\/li>\n
      • Soil and water regime degradation<\/strong> \u2013 fires reduce the soil's ability to retain water and sequester carbon.<\/li>\n
      • Threat to indigenous communities<\/strong>which are dependent on natural resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
        \ud83d\udd0d Solutions and challenges<\/h5>\n

        Fighting fires requires comprehensive approach<\/strong>Experts recommend:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Reduce deforestation<\/strong> \u2013 the most effective way to prevent fires.<\/li>\n
        2. Better monitoring<\/strong> \u2013 satellite systems such as MapBiomas allow rapid identification of outbreaks.<\/li>\n
        3. Prohibition of burning vegetation<\/strong> \u2013 stricter legislation and its consistent application.<\/li>\n
        4. Support of sustainable agriculture<\/strong> \u2013 alternatives to burning the land.<\/li>\n
        5. Protection of indigenous territories<\/strong> \u2013 these areas often have lower fire rates due to traditional landscape management.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          The fires destroyed a quarter of Brazil's territory<\/strong> in less than half a century. The year 2024 shows that the situation is worsening \u2013 despite progress in monitoring and control. The Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal are burning more often and deeper than ever before<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

          This alarming trend requires immediate action to saving the world's largest ecosystems<\/strong>, which are crucial not only for Brazil, but for global climate<\/strong>Without active protection, the coming decades threaten to bring an even greater ecological disaster \u2013 with global consequences. Spring<\/strong><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Brazil has been hit by devastating fires over the past 40 years, leaving a deep ecological footprint. A new analysis by Brazilian organization MapBiomas reveals that 206 million hectares of land were affected by fires between 1985 and 2024 \u2013 equivalent to almost<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-klimaticka-zmena"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36373\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}