South America Faces One of the Worst Waves of Wildfires in Recent Years
GPS-based representation of fire hotspots in the Amazon basin, as of Sept. 19, 2024. X/ @ONCA_Arts
September 19, 2024 Hour: 9:14 am
Most of the fires have been caused by deliberate burning of lands and improper disposal of highly polluting waste.
In recent months, South America has been experiencing one of the worst droughts, creating conditions ripe for numerous wildfires across the region, especially in the Amazon, where at least 350,370 forest fires have been recorded.
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In several South American regions, rural populations often burn land to “prepare” it for agriculture and livestock. This practice, exacerbated by drought and strong winds, is considered one of the causes of wildfires in South America.
Many of these burns get out of control and quickly spread to other areas, which is why Brazil has banned the use and handling of fire during the dry season. In Bolivia, authorities have suspended this practice, which is otherwise considered legal. Deforestation and illegal logging are also destroying forests, leaving lands prone to the spread of wildfires and affecting the flow of rivers and lakes.
Authorities across South America agree that most of the wildfires have been caused by activities such as land burning, improper disposal of highly polluting waste, and camping. Below is a summary of the main natural disasters that have occurred so far this year.
ARGENTINA: In this country, there are few active fires, but the risk of new outbreaks remains, such as those that affected various parts of the country in the provinces of Salta and La Rioja in the northwest, and Santa Fe (central) or Cordoba (central), where 1,500 wildfires have been recorded this year, affecting more than 30,000 hectares.
BOLIVIA: This Andean country has already lost more than 3.8 million hectares of forests and grasslands in areas that harbor the highest biodiversity, leading to the declaration of a “national emergency.” This situation also threatens the survival of 34 Indigenous peoples in the regions of Santa Cruz and Beni, according to Miguel Vargas, director of the Center for Legal Studies and Social Research (Cejis).
BRAZIL: According to the Institute for Space Research (INPE), the wildfires reported so far in 2024 have been the worst in the last 15 years, surpassing the 344,391 fires reported in 2023. Since August, Brazilian authorities have registered 128,000 fire outbreaks. In the first eight months of the year, wildfires have devastated 11.9 million hectares, half of which are in the Amazon.
According to the scientific platform MapBiomas, 70 percent of the burned areas consist of native vegetation, mainly grassland formations. The fires in Brazil’s Amazon between June and August emitted 31.5 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, a volume 60 percent higher than during the same period last year.
Additionally, the drought has drastically reduced the flow of several major rivers in the Amazon, isolating rural communities and causing difficulties in the transport of people and goods, which in the region depend heavily on river transport.
CHILE: In February, this South Ameican country experienced the deadliest wildfire in its history, which left 137 dead in the central region of Valparaiso and is considered the worst tragedy since the 2010 earthquake. While 2024 has been the deadliest year on record, the area burned was significantly smaller compared to other years (72,000 hectares). The fires of 2017 and 2023 remain the most devastating, with around 570,000 and 430,000 hectares burned, respectively.
COLOMBIA: Over 19,430 hectares of forest have been destroyed by 23 fires, reported the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), which stated that “the situation is not out of control.”
The authorities have deployed helicopters equipped with the Bambi Bucket system and aircraft with the Guardian Caylym system from the Colombian Air Force (FAC), the Army, and the Police to combat the flames. “Many of these fires will not be extinguished in a matter of days; the important thing is to ensure the protection of citizens’ lives and properties,” said UNGRD director Carlos Carrillo.
ECUADOR: Since the beginning of the year, over 34,000 hectares have burned in Ecuador, 77 percent of them since August, when the dry season in the Andean highlands intensified and fires began. The worst fire so far occurred in the province of Loja, where flames consumed more than 6,000 hectares of vegetation, grasslands, and pine forest. The emergency was largely extinguished thanks to two airplanes and two helicopters sent by Peru.
So far, there have been 11 people injured, 227 people displaced, and 366 people affected, along with four destroyed homes and over 44,000 animals killed. In Ecuador, the drought has also led to a new energy crisis as there is not enough water to supply the main hydroelectric plants. President Daniel Noboa has decreed nighttime power outages.
PARAGUAY: The Paraguayan Human Rights Coordinator (Codehupy) has called for a “state of emergency” to be declared in the Paraguayan Chaco due to the lack of potable water, droughts, fires, and cyclical flooding in the area, and for a law to be passed imposing a deforestation ban in the western region of the country.
PERU: The Peruvian government announced that it will declare a state of emergency in the regions of San Martin, Ucayali, and Amazonas to facilitate firefighting efforts. However, in the Amazon, atmospheric conditions complicate the deployment of aircraft to fight the fires.
According to the National Institute of Civil Defense, Peru currently has 34 active fires and 21 controlled ones. So far this year, authorities have recorded 234 fires, resulting in 16 deaths and 140 injuries.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
