Faced with the spread of fires, which are also ravaging the Amazon (north), the Pantanal (central-west), the largest wetland in the world, and other regions, left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called a meeting of his government on Monday to consider new measures.
The biggest fire of the year in the Brazilian capital has enveloped the city in a toxic cloud, a phenomenon seen in recent weeks in other major cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In some neighborhoods, visibility was very low, AFP found.
Three fires broke out Sunday in the Brasilia National Park, a water and wildlife reserve.
Using planes and helicopters, around a hundred firefighters are working to combat the flames.
“It is not possible to say at this point when we will be finished with this fire,” said Carolina Schubart, from the Environment Secretariat of the Federal District, a region that includes Brasilia.
Faced with the fire, which has already consumed 1,200 hectares, residents have resorted to simple buckets of water to prevent the fire from spreading to their homes.
In Brazil, the number of fires recorded so far in September (57,312) has already exceeded the total number for the same month last year (46,498), according to data released by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), a public body, based on satellite data.
Fueled by a historic drought that experts attribute in part to climate change, the fires are mostly arson-related, authorities say.
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