Wednesday 12 / February / 2025
Brasilia: Firefighters are battling wildfires in Brazil's Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland.
The Pantanal is home to jaguars, giant anteaters and giant river otters.
Close to 32,000 hectares have already been destroyed by the fires in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, local media report.
Climate experts say this year's wildfire season has started earlier and is more intense than in previous years, BBC news reported.
Firefighters said their efforts to extinguish the flames were being hampered by high winds over the weekend.
The region has also seen less rain than in other years, which has made it easier for the fires to spread.
The number of fires from the start of the year up to 9 June 2024 has been 935% higher than in the same period last year (2023), according to figures from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
The rise is particularly worrying as the high season for wildfires is not due to start until July.
Mato Grosso do Sul state authorities declared an environmental state of emergency in April, saying low levels of rainfall were creating ideal conditions for wildfires.
The number of fires so far in 2024 is the highest since 2020, which was the worst year on record in terms of Pantanal fires.
In that year, about 30% of the Pantanal was consumed by fire.
The difference in the number of fire outbreaks so far this year compared to last year is already staggering.
Between 1 January and 9 June 2023, 127 fires had been reported. In the same period this year (2024), that number was 1,315.
Last week, Brazil's federal government announced it would work together with the state governments of Mato Grosso do Sul and Amazonia to combat wildfires.
