Atypical, fire in the Pantanal in November flares up with drought – 11/16/2023 – Environment

“The seasons are completely different. It’s rainy season. We can see that everything is changing, the climate has changed.”

Seu Elias, or Elias Francisco Xavier, 69, thus summarizes the current situation of the Pantanal, which is going through its worst November of fires in history, amid the lack of the “rainfall” typical of the period.

He spent decades living in the swamp — or, at least, in a swamp that he no longer sees so clearly. “We’re going to see this get worse, you can pay attention. This swamp is gone. If it continues like this, it’s gone, this is gone,” he says, who lives in a shack on the edge of BR-262, in the Miranda region ( MS). In addition to his home for 16 years, the place serves as his tire shop and grocery store.

The conversation with Sheet is sometimes interrupted by incoming cell phone calls. There are people from neighboring shacks asking where the flames that are raging in the biome are.

Mr Elias is alone. Despite the calls, the other shacks are empty and unkept, with an accumulation of dirt around them, a situation that bothers and worries the now only resident of the area.

The concern has reason: the fire fronts pushed by the strong wind in the region are not that far away, as he himself says on the phone.

One of them stopped, at least for now — there are still some places where smoke can be seen —, after sweeping part of the region known as Passo do Lontra, about 8 km from Elias’ house.

The community of Passo do Lontra is just a few steps from an area with completely burned vegetation, on the banks of the Miranda River. At the most critical moments, the fire and smoke caused children in the community to become ill and have to be evacuated to some nearby inns.

Julio Cesar Silva Parronchi, 36, who was born in Passo do Lontra, is a fishing guide and also a fire brigade leader in the community.

“We thought it wouldn’t even catch fire this year,” he says. He refers to the previous months, August and September, especially, when there is expected to be a greater presence of fire in the region. In 2023, however, the fire outbreak situation was below the historical averages for these months.

The biome already has some adaptation to fire, but the situation in November is considerably different. Since the beginning of this century, the record number of fires in the biome for the month had been in 2002, with 2,328 fires. The current month, still halfway through, already totals 3,024.

Considering the beginning of the historical series, in 1998, the average for November is 441 outbreaks. November of this year already exceeds 6.8 times this average. All this data comes from the Queimadas Program, from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research).

Julio says that, as far as he remembers, he has never seen a fiery November like this. Talk about him repeats the impression of several people who have been in the region for decades, including firefighters.

“This size of the burned area for November is atypical,” says Leonardo Gomes, director of institutional relations at the NGO SOS Pantanal, which is helping to fight the flames in Mato Grosso.

“On the other hand, I wouldn’t say it’s a surprise, given the climate events we’re witnessing. It’s new, but it shouldn’t be a surprise. Climate change is a reality. We’re all going to suffer, in different ways, these effects.”

Analysis by researcher Ana Paula Cunha, from Cemaden (National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts), shows that in the last month (from October 15th to November 15th) drought is predominant in the biome. Satellite images indicate that almost the entire biome deviates from the rainfall pattern for the period, considering data since 2000.

The very accommodation where Gomes and other people fighting the flames are staying in Mato Grosso is surrounded by flames. He classifies the situation as serious.

In Mato Grosso do Sul, close to one of the bridges that are part of BR-262, the fear of the fire’s proximity to houses came true and turned to ashes. A small building where fishing bait sellers lived was consumed by flames that ran parallel to the highway.

Fridge, bed, stove, everything was burned. The residents of the place, on the banks of a small body of water where, as usual in the region, some alligators live, left behind dirty plates and cutlery on a plastic table, as well as reading glasses.

Amid the destruction of the house, two kittens survived, with no signs of injury, which were hidden among water tanks at the location at the time the report was in the area. A Sheet sought information about what will be done with the animals. According to the Federal Highway Police, residents have already been warned about the surviving cats.

The situation of the entities involved in fighting the flames in the Pantanal has improved, according to Gomes, compared to 2020, the year in which the biome experienced another historic period of fires.

“But it is still far below what is needed to face this challenge. Some points have not yet advanced, such as communication, logistics, because you do not have access to many areas.”

For Alexandre Bossi, president of SOS Pantanal, the pantanal needs a joint management plan between the federal government and the governments of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. “Droughts will be more severe and longer, and the pantanal will be hit in full,” he says. “In 2023 we have already lost the battle, and we need the rain. For 2024, we need to prepare.”