The Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul has declared a state of emergency due to uncontrollable wildfires devastating the planet’s largest wetland, the Pantanal, most of which is located in the state.
The announcement followed the rampant spread of the wildfires, according to a decree published in the official gazette.
The state of emergency, which will last six months, will facilitate faster deployment of resources to combat the fires, attributed largely to severe drought and the intentional burning of forests to expand agricultural land.
Throughout the weekend, social media was awash with videos demonstrating a towering “wall of fire” illuminating the forest night during St. John’s festivities in the city of Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul. Data provided by the Environmental Satellite Application Laboratory at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro reveals that, since the beginning of the year, the Pantanal has lost 627,000 hectares to the fires.
The Pantanal, straddling the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, also extends into Bolivia and Paraguay, located south of the Amazon. Mato Grosso do Sul has been hit hardest this year. About 78% - 480,775 ha.- of the total area scorched by fire is located in the state.
In comparison, during the first half of 2020, approximately 267,000 ha. were burnt in the Pantanal, setting an all-time high, with 30% of the biome affected throughout the year.
From 1 January to 23 June, the Brazilian Institute of Space Research (INPE) recorded 3,262 outbreaks of fire in the Pantanal, a 33% increase on the corresponding period in 2020.
Four years ago, the situation was particularly critical in the second half of the year, particularly in September.
