Amazon fires: Brazil's Pará state declares 120-day emergency amid severe drought

BRASÍLIA: A northern Brazilian state has declared an environmental state of emergency due to hundreds of forest fires in the Amazon basin amid a severe drought linked to the El Nino climate phenomenon.

Since the start of November, the state of Para has already recorded more than 5,000 fires, almost as many as during the entire month of November 2025, according to satellite data from the National Institute for Space Research.

Nearly 700 fires were active in the last 48 hours.

The emergency measure announced Thursday is to last 120 days and bans the use of fire to clear pastureland and mobilizes additional resources to extinguish fires and prevent new outbreaks.

The Brazilian Amazon is affected by El Nino, the name given to the warming of an equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean, a climate phenomenon that raises temperatures and causes droughts. It is expected to become the most powerful ever recorded this year, experts say.

The drought in Para, which has 8.7 million inhabitants, is severe and the "parched vegetation is facilitating the spread of fire and threatening populations, forests and productive activities," the state government said.

Manaus, located in the neighbouring state of Amazonas, closed schools in early October due to the health risks posed by the smoke from hundreds of fires burning near urban areas.

The Amazon is the largest tropical forest in the world, and its conservation is essential to slowing global warming. In 2024, the Brazilian Amazon recorded a record number of forest fires.

This year is expected to be particularly severe, with a peak forecast for December. - AFP