Overwhelming heat, stale air. Conditions in Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian Amazon, have been difficult since Wednesday October 11, with fires in the region having shrouded the city of some two million inhabitants in gray smoke.

As a result of these fumes, the air that was breathed this week in the capital of the state of Amazonas (north) was among the least healthy in the world, according to the specialized site World air quality index. In the first eleven days of October, the state recorded more than 2,700 fires. This is already the highest figure for the month since official monitoring began in 1998, according to the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).

This Brazilian institute had recorded 2,770 active households on Thursday since the beginning of October, an increase of 154% compared to the 1,089 recorded over the same period last year.

In the streets, some people wear masks to protect themselves. The city’s main universities canceled all activities, while the Manaus marathon, initially scheduled for Sunday, was postponed for two months.

“There is no natural fire in the Amazon”

Faced with the emergency, the government announced on Friday the dispatch of two helicopters and 149 additional personnel, which will be added to the 140 people already deployed to fight the fires.

The Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, protested against the fires during a press conference in Brasilia. “There is no natural fire in the Amazon,” she said, targeting “criminals” who use fires to deforest and graze livestock or plant crops.

In addition to these fires, the region is experiencing an exceptionally severe drought which has brought the level of rivers to a critical threshold. Half a million people are affected by it, for transport or supplies.

Many of the Amazon’s major rivers are currently at historic low levels, disrupting navigation and isolating hundreds of riverside communities. In Lake Tefe, heated, shallow waters likely caused the deaths of dozens of river dolphins. Most were pink dolphins, an endangered species.

Risks for respiratory diseases

While, since the start of the year and the return to power of left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, deforestation has fallen by almost 50% compared to the same period in 2022, this drought is causing an increase in fires In the region.

“It is an extremely serious situation because three factors intersect: the great drought caused by El Niño, dry organic matter in large quantities, and arson fires in private properties and on public land », underlined Ms Silva.

Marcio Garcia, a health ministry official, warned that the fumes overwhelming Manaus pose “significant risks, mainly for respiratory diseases” and called on the local population to avoid exposure to it as much as possible.