Wave of fires in Brazil: flames now reach Brasilia National Park (photos)
Brazilian firefighters try to put out a fire in Brasilia National Park on Sunday, the latest outbreak of wildfires raging in Brazil due to the country’s worst drought on record.
By Sudinfo with Belga
Published on 09/16/2024 at 06:22
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and First Lady Rosângela da Silva flew over the devastated area of this nature reserve in the Brazilian capital, according to images published on their social networks.
“The federal government is working with firefighters to fight the flames,” the president wrote.
It is the largest fire of the year in the city, which has accumulated 145 days without rain and minimal humidity levels.
The flames have so far devastated 1,200 hectares, according to the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), which is responsible for administering Brazil’s national parks. It said that the mobilization against the fire is expected to continue throughout the night in the 30,000-hectare park.
The fire broke out on the same day that Supreme Court Justice Flavio Dino authorized the government to exceed the spending cap to finance the fight against what he considers a “pandemic of fires.”
“We cannot refuse maximum and effective aid to more than half of our territory (…) under the pretext of respecting an accounting rule that does not appear in the Constitution,” said Mr. Dino, who was until January Lula’s justice minister.
The number of fires in September (55,517) has already exceeded that recorded during the whole of September 2023 (46,498)
“The objective is to completely free the hands of the Brazilian state” to protect the populations affected by the flames, particularly in the Amazon (north), he added.
The number of fires in September (55,517) has already exceeded that recorded during the entire month of September 2023 (46,498), according to the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
Fires in Brazil are spreading more easily because of a historic drought that experts link to climate change, and low humidity.
Smoke from the fires is affecting some of Brazil’s major cities, such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, as well as neighboring countries.
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