Nearly 200 megatons of carbon emissions recorded in Brazil so far in 2024

Il Servizio di Monitoraggio dell’Atmosfera di Copernicus (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service - CAMS) ha analizzato le emissioni di incendi in Sud America negli ultimi mesi e i dati sono sconvolgenti: le emissioni sono state costantemente superiori alla media, soprattutto a causa dei gravi incendi nelle regioni del Pantanal e dell'Amazzonia, che hanno avuto un grave impatto sulla qualità dell'aria in tutta la regione

The country’s total carbon emissions have reached nearly 200 megatons so far in 2024 alone, a level above the average.

Data from Copernicus shows that almost 65 megatons of the total came just from September. This is unsurprisingly due to the wildfires in the Amazon region, mainly from the states of Amazonas and Mato Grosso do Sul. These two states have the highest cumulative annual carbon emissions in 22 years of data recording, with large tracts of the Pantanal wetlands.

Bolivia sees record wildfire emissions in 2024

The 2024 Bolivian wildfire carbon emissions have surpassed the highest annual total in the CAMS GFAS dataset by mid-September, recording a near 80 megatons to-date total, thus beating the previous record of 73 megatons set in 2010.

In September alone, more than 32 megatons were emitted. Wildfires in the Pantanal region made up the lion’s share in Brazil’s record emissions, but their role has been more moderate in Bolivia’s record. A large portion of Bolivia’s emission came from Santa Cruz.

These fires might be considered anomalous, even though the three months from July to September do indeed compose the fire season for the region. Extremely high temperatures observed over the past few months in South America, along with long-term drought conditions as reflected by low soil moisture and other climatological factors, have likely contributed to significantly increasing the extent of fire emissions, smoke, and air quality impacts.

Activity of wildfires in 2024 has been above average throughout the Amazon region and the Pantanal wetlands of South America. Smoke transport has reached farther than outside the immediate vicinity of the fire sites, well out into the Atlantic Ocean. The extent of the smoke transport and air quality impacts is representative of the magnitude and intensity of these fires. It remains important to continue monitoring these wildfires and their emissions for the impact on air quality and atmosphere, according to Mark Parrington, ECMWF Senior Scientist at CAMS.

Widespread air quality deterioration across the continent

As if this wasn’t enough, the widely spread consequence: Wildfires, and their resulting emissions, have led to a deterioration in air quality across much of the continent, besides bringing in a plume of smoke extending from Ecuador to São Paulo.