Pará Declares Climate Emergency Due to Forest Fires and Drought

In a decree issued on Saturday the Amazonian state of Pará in northern Brazil declared a 120-day environmental and climate emergency due to hundreds of active tropical forest fires and severe drought, RFI reported.

Pará recorded more than 5,000 fires during the first two weeks of November alone. That figure nearly matches the total fire count for the entire month of November in the previous year.

Active blazes threaten areas south of Santarém, indigenous territories such as the Tupinamba lands along the Tapajós River, and surrounding protected zones. Satellite monitoring detected 700 active forest fires over a recent 48-hour window.

The intense dry spell stems from a combination of global heating and the natural climate phenomenon El Niño. Experts say El Niño could reach an intensity this year that has not been seen since 1950.

Low water levels across regional rivers hinder access for firefighters who rely on fluvial transport to reach remote burning zones. Pará state officials said that parched vegetation accelerates fire spread across a region populated by 8.7 million residents.

The emergency decree, implemented by authorities on November 12, explicitly prohibits using fire to clear pasture lands. The measure also mobilizes additional state resources to suppress current blazes and prevent new outbreaks.

A historic drought linked to El Niño and global heating triggered a major humanitarian crisis across the Amazon in 2024. That same year, the Brazilian Amazon logged a record number of forest fires.

Scientists warn that deforestation and shifting climate patterns are pushing the world’s largest tropical rainforest dangerously close to an irreversible tipping point. Current projections anticipate a severe peak in fire activity throughout December.