Smoke from Amazon fires pollutes the air of Brazilian megacities

In Sao Paulo, the level of fine particles (PM2.5) reached 69 micrograms per cubic meter, almost 14 times higher than the limit recommended by the World Health Organization.

Health risks. Smoke from intense forest fires in the Amazon and other regions of Brazil is reaching megacities like Sao Paulo on Monday, September 9, while it is one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Nearly five million km2 have been affected by smoke in Brazil, or about 60% of the territory, according to estimates by Karla Longo, a researcher at the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), based on satellite images. And “If we take into account the areas affected in neighbouring countries and in the Atlantic Ocean, the area affected on Sunday was of the order of ten million km2”this researcher specified in an email from the Inpe sent to AFP.

Argentine and Uruguayan authorities reported Monday the presence of this smoke in several of their regions. A thick cloud of gray smoke runs along the Andes mountain range towards the south of the continent, as shown in this satellite image shared by NASA, the American space agency.

Sao Paulo (southeast of Brazil), the largest city in Latin America, repeatedly topped the ranking of the most polluted major cities in the world on Monday, according to the air quality monitoring company IQAir. The level of fine particles (PM2.5) reached 69 micrograms per cubic meter, almost 14 times higher than the limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The situation is also worrying in Rio de Janeiro, where the rate is 26 micrograms per cubic meter, more than five times the WHO threshold.

These fires, most of which are of criminal origin according to the authorities, and often linked to agricultural activity, are spreading more easily due to a historic drought caused in particular by climate change, according to experts.