Fires in November almost double compared to 2021

ACCESS THE NOVEMBER FIRE MONITOR BULLETIN

Data from the MapBiomas Fire Monitor confirms the escalation of environmental destruction in the final months of the Bolsonaro government. The area burned nationwide in November - 775,000 hectares - was 89% higher than in the same month in 2021. Of this total, 81% (627,000 hectares) were burned in the Amazon. 

Most of the area burned (58%) last month was native vegetation, with more than a third (35%) affecting forest formations. Among the types of agricultural land use affected, pastures stood out, accounting for 38% of the area burned in November. The leading states in terms of area destroyed by fire were Pará, Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Amazonas. The municipalities of Querência (MT), Lábrea (AM), Pacajá (PA) and Porto Velho (RO) had the largest areas burned.

"The Fire Monitor's data on the area burned in November only confirms what we had already seen with the hotspots. Right after the second round of the elections, there was an increase in the area burned in a month that normally wouldn't have seen many fires due to the rains. This is clearly a reaction to the new government's expectation of more effective policies to combat deforestation and fires," says Ane Alencar, coordinator of MapBiomas Fogo and IPAM's Science Director. 

A new feature of the Fire Monitor is the areas burned by Conservation Units (UCs) and Indigenous Lands (TIs). It shows that in November the Conservation Units that burned the most were the Chico Mendes RESEX, the Cajari River RESEX and the Verde para Sempre RESEX. In the case of Indigenous Lands, the ranking is led by the Xingu Indigenous Park, the Paresi Indigenous Land and the Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Land.

With November's figures, the total since January has reached 15.9 million hectares, an area larger than the combined territories of Scotland and the Czech Republic. This figure is 13% higher than that recorded in the same period in 2021 - a difference of 1.8 million hectares more. The vast majority (70%) of the area burned was native vegetation, mainly savannah and grassland formations. However, it was the forests that saw the biggest increase compared to last year: 86%, or around 2.7 million hectares. Of this total, 85% occurred in the Amazon. Between January and November, forests in the Amazon burned almost twice as much as was burned in forests in the region in the whole of 2021. A third (30%, or 2.3 million hectares) of what was burned in the Amazon affected forests, either by fires or deforestation followed by fire. 

Almost half of the fires recorded in the period (48%, equivalent to 7.7 million hectares) occurred in the Amazon biome. In second place is the Cerrado (46%, equivalent to 7.3 million hectares). "It's worth noting that in the last two years the Cerrado had burned more than the Amazon, but this year the Amazon overtook the Cerrado," says Ane. The Pantanal had the smallest area burned in the last four years, with an 86% reduction from 2022 to 2021 in relation to the area burned from January to November.

The UCs that lead the ranking of burned areas from January to November 2022 are the Araguaia National Park, the Serra Geral do Tocantins Ecological Station and the Parnaíba River Springs National Park. In the case of Indigenous Lands, the ones that burned the most in the period are the Araguaia Indigenous Park, the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land and the Xingu Indigenous Park. 

Among the types of agricultural use burned in 2022, pastures stood out, accounting for 25% of the area burned in the first eleven months of 2022.

The state that burned the most between January and November this year was Mato Grosso: 3.6 million hectares, an area equivalent to countries like Taiwan or Guinea Bissau. The state was responsible for almost a quarter of what was burned in Brazil during this period. Pará and Tocantins occupy the second and third positions in the ranking, with 2.7 million hectares (equivalent to the territory of Haiti) and 2.2 million hectares (more than the whole of Wales), respectively. Together, these three states accounted for 57% of the total burned area in the period.

Amazon Highlights

  • The area burned between January and November 2022 in the Amazon is already 49% higher than what was burned in 2021.
  • The three municipalities that burned the most in Brazil in November 2022 are in the Amazon: Querência (MT), Lábrea (AM) and Pacajá (PA).
  • The three municipalities that burned the most in Brazil from January to November 2022 are in the Amazon: São Felix do Xingu (PA), Altamira (PA) and Porto Velho (RO).
  • Forest formation was the type of native vegetation that burned the most in the Amazon, 30% of the area burned between January and November 2022.
  • 627,000 hectares were burned in the Amazon in November 2022, an increase of 106% compared to the same month last year.
  • Pasture was the land use class that burned the most, with 46% of the total area burned in the Amazon in November 2022.

Cerrado Highlights

  • 7.3 Mha were burned in the Cerrado between January and November 2022, an increase of 18% compared to the same period last year. 
  • The states that burned the most in the Cerrado were Mato Grosso, Tocantins and Maranhão, between January and November 2022.
  • Almost half of the area burned in the Cerrado between January and November 2022 was in savannah formations (3.5 Mha, 48%).
  • Although the area burned in November decreased compared to previous months, it was still 249% higher compared to November 2021 (or 83,000 ha more)

Highlights of other biomes 

  • In the Atlantic Forest Biome, although the area burned in the first 11 months of 2022 was the lowest in the last 4 years, the area burned in November was 6,695 hectares, 55% more than November 2021 (or 2,379 ha more).
  • In the summer of 2022, a record area of fires was recorded in the Pampa, with 28,039 ha. On the other hand, in the period between March and November the total burned area was 1,260 ha, well below what was recorded for the same period in the previous three years.
  • The entire area burned in the Pantanal in 2022 has been the smallest in the last four years, with 6,632 hectares burned in November 2022. 
  • A Caatinga vem seguindo o mesmo padrão do Pantanal, com áreas queimadas inferiores aos anos anteriores e com 18.589 hectares queimados em novembro de 2022. 

    About the Fire Monitor:
    The Fire Monitor is the monthly mapping of fire scars for Brazil, covering the period from 2019 onwards, and updated monthly. Based on monthly mosaics of Sentinel 2 multispectral images with a spatial resolution of 10 meters and a temporal resolution of 5 days. The Fire Monitor reveals the location and extent of burnt areas in almost real time, making it easier to account for the destruction caused by fire. Access the Fire Monitor and Boletim Mensal de novembro