Brazil’s Amazon wildfire triggers health crisis as smokes choke residents

Thick smoke from record wildfires raging across Brazil’s Amazon rainforest blanketed entire surrounding communities, sparking a public health crisis.

With the raging wildfires in Amazon, Cerrado savannah, Pantanal wetland, and Sao Paulo, residents complained of escalating symptoms such as burning throats, red eyes, and persistent cough.

Most of these are man-made wildfires, which in the past had been used traditionally for deforestation and pasture management. This year, however, they spiraled out of control. According to the National Institute for Space Research, there were 53,620 fire spots in the Amazon between January 1 and August 27, an astonishing 83% increase compared with the same period last year.

The fire has degraded air quality drastically across the region, with many areas now classified as having “very bad” or “terrible” air pollution, according to the State University of Amazonas’ environmental monitoring system.

In response, the state’s civil defence authority asked residents to stay hydrated and remain indoors whenever possible. Not everyone can take that advice, as like the street vendors, garbage collectors, crossing guards, and others are forced to stay out in the dangerous conditions to do their jobs.

According to Jesem Orellana, an epidemiologist and researcher at the Fiocruz Institute in Manaus, these workers face greater risk. “Because they have to work harder to breathe in these conditions, they inhale more of the dangerous particles into their lungs,” Orellana noted.

The health impact of the smoke spans well beyond physical ailments, said Orellana, and causes deep anxiety and impacts the quality of sleep.” In Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon, residents typically prepare themselves for the “smoke of death” in mid-September and October, when fires and deforestation reach at peak. This year, however, smoke arrived months in advance, lengthening the exposure to toxic air.

Maria Soledade Barros Silva from the Ponta Negra neighbourhood in Manaus, described how thick clouds of smog obscure the famous riverside beach nearby. A place that used to be a spot for outdoor activities has lately lost its beauty. Smoke also makes navigation more difficult on the waterways locals rely on. “It’s not normal. I’ve lived here for 40 years. We didn’t have this before,” lamented Barros Silva.

The immediacy of the crisis underlines those actions must be taken by the authorities as well as the citizens, in order to dampen the fires and protect the health and welfare of the region’s inhabitants.