Brazil Wildfires: What Travelers Should Know

28.08.2024 - 21:36 / cntraveler.com / El Niño

In the past few months, wildfires in Brazil have burned through the Amazon Rainforest, Pantanal wetlands, and Cerrado tropical savanna—killing wildlife and engulfing major cities, including the nation’s capital, Brasília, in smoke. While one might assume that a 131,000-acre ecological reserve in the midst of Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland, would always be a humid and leafy haven, in recent years, the Pantanal wetlands have suffered heavily from fires, which have become increasingly harsh as climate change advances. As a result of two widespread wildfires in July and earlier this month, 80% of the area of the Panantal's Caiman hotel reserve burned down this year, forcing the property and wildlife refuge to close down its operations from August 1 to the end of September.

In São Paulo, the richest and most populous state of the country, both the Cerrado and rural areas have seen widespread fires (peaking the weekend of August 24). As of August 28, the fires in São Paulo have all been brought under control, though a total of 48 cities remained in a state of emergency, according to a statement published by the local government. The governor, Tarcísio de Freitas, says that while it’s hard to estimate the losses caused by the fires, they will certainly exceed one billion Brazilian real—over $180 million USD.

This August saw the most fire outbreaks in São Paulo since the state’s measurements began 26 years ago, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, INPE. The figures for Pantanal are also worrying: the biome is facing its worst drought in 70 years, worsened by extreme El Niño events. In 2024, nearly 2 million acres were burned down in the Pantanal by early July, according to INPE’s latest data. In the first semester alone, the area burned in the biome increased by 529% compared to the previous year.

Despite the undeniable negative impact on nature, tourism in Brazil hasn’t been severely affected by the recent fires. The nation’s largest hotel associations tell Condé Nast Traveler that no member hotels other than the Panantal's ecotourism Caiman hotel have seen operations impacted. However, experts warn that travelers should be aware of health risks related to air pollution from the fires, and are advised to check forecasts and humidity levels before a trip to Brazil. Here’s what tourists should know about the fires in Brazil:

The July fires in the Northern part of Brazil spread a toxic gray cloud of smoke over most of the country, as shown by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s satellite images. A brief reprieve came in mid-August when the phenomenon was interrupted by a polar air mass that dropped temperatures and brought some rain to the Center-South of