The smoke caused by the fires that hit the Pantanal, both in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, spread to other Brazilian states this Friday afternoon (17).
Satellite images from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) show smoke from the fires in both states moving to the Northwest of São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina, as well as to Paraguay.
In the last two days, the number of fire outbreaks in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul jumped from 3,860 to 3,962, totaling 102 new outbreaks in 24 hours.
To date, according to Inpe, Mato Grosso has recorded 2,731 fires, while Mato Grosso do Sul has 1,231. The states occupy 2nd and 4th place in the ranking of federative units with the highest fire rates.
The Pantanal region in Mato Grosso do Sul has five cities in an emergency situation due to the fires.
In an interview with CNN Lieutenant Colonel Tatiane Dias de Oliveira, from the Fire Department, stated that there is an “exorbitant difference” in hot spots in the last 30 days compared to last year.
“In 2022, we had 60 outbreaks, now in 2023 this number is 1,468 until last November 15th”, he stated, to CNN Radio .
On Thursday (16), around 100 soldiers from the Mato Grosso Military Fire Department were needed to fight eight forest fire fronts in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso.
The actions are supported by three planes to dump water, a helicopter and 11 boats to infiltrate teams, as well as vehicles and water trucks.
Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul are among the states on heat wave alert, valid until this Friday (17).
The governments of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul also declared an emergency due to fires in the northern Pantanal region. In Mato Grosso, the decree is valid for 60 days. In Mato Grosso do Sul, 90 days.
Video: Fires hit the highway that gives access to the Pantanal in Mato Grosso
Source: CNN Brasil
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