This is especially concerning given that the situation has worsened relatively early in the Amazon’s dry season, which typically runs from June to November.
This suggests that the situation in the Amazon, a key region in the fight against climate change and a rich source of biodiversity, may not improve significantly in the coming months.
The link between drought and global warming is complex, but climate change can worsen dry climate conditions in two main ways.
First, as climate patterns change, the Amazon Basin receives less rainfall between June and November than it used to.
Second, as temperatures rise, plants and soil lose more water through increased evaporation.
In 2023, the Amazon basin experienced its worst drought in at least 45 years, and scientists at the World Meteorological Attribution Group found that climate change is likely to make the drought several times worse.
Last year’s drought was made worse by a natural weather pattern called El Niño, which causes the Amazon to be warmer and drier than normal.
El Niño phenomenon is over, but dry weather continues.
Another factor in the Amazon drought is deforestation. For example, about a fifth of the rainforest has been cleared over the past 50 years to make way for agriculture.
These trees provide resilience to drought because they release moisture from their leaves into the air, helping to increase rainfall. Without these trees, the Amazon would be more vulnerable.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pledged to halt deforestation completely by 2030.
But the current drought, which has contributed to the spread of the fires, highlights several challenges in limiting further forest loss.
