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Record-Breaking Fires Consume Brazil's Pantanal Wetland, Threatening Unique Ecosystem

Brazil's Pantanal wetland is experiencing record-breaking fires, threatening its unique ecosystem and carbon sink capabilities. The dry season is expected to worsen the situation, with the World Wildlife Foundation warning that 2024 could be the worst year on record for the Pantanal.

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Aqsa Younas Rana
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Brazil's Pantanal wetland is experiencing record-breaking fires, threatening its unique ecosystem and carbon sink capabilities.

Brazil's Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland on earth, is ablaze, with fires in June breaking historical records for that month. While aerial views of the wetland show smoke rising and the bright orange of burning fires, a closer look at burnt vegetation found charred skeletons of wildlife, including an alligator, monkey, and snake, photos from Reuters showed earlier this week.

Brazil's National Institute of Space Research (INPE) has detected 733 fires in the Pantanal biome so far this month, with the previous record for fires in Pantanal for June being 435 registered in 2005. The state of Mato Grosso do Sul, which encompasses 60% of the Brazilian Pantanal, is under a "danger" warning for a heat wave expected to hit with temperatures 5ºC higher than average for the next three to five days, according to Brazil's National Meteorological Institute (INMET).

Why This Matters: The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Brazil has warned that the entire year of 2024 could become the worst year on record for the Pantanal as the dry season is just beginning, and the number of fires this year already represents an increase of 898% compared to the same period in 2023, according to INPE's data.

The Pantanal's distinctive habitats rely on what scientists call the "flood pulse." During the wet season between November and March, three-quarters of the plain gets flooded, only for much of the water to drain away during the dry months, from April to September. This seasonal flooding makes the Pantanal a unique biome where large swaths of land regularly turn from terrestrial into aquatic habitats and back again.

Wetlands like the Pantanal are Earth's most effective carbon sinks – ecosystems that absorb and store more carbon than they release, keeping it away from the atmosphere. At roughly 200,000 square kilometers, the Pantanal comprises about 3% of the globe's wetlands and plays a key role in the carbon cycle.

Key Takeaways:

  • Record-breaking fires in Brazil's Pantanal wetland threaten unique ecosystem.
  • 733 fires detected in Pantanal biome in June, surpassing previous record.
  • Heat wave expected to hit Mato Grosso do Sul with temperatures 5ºC higher than average.
  • WWF Brazil warns 2024 could be worst year on record for Pantanal due to dry season.
  • Pantanal wetland plays crucial role in carbon cycle, comprising 3% of globe's wetlands.

 

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