G20 Radio Bulletin 143 - Wildfires and climate crisis: The 2023/2024 drought is the most severe in recent history, records show

The impact of wildfires and the global climate debate are urgent topics at the center of the G20 debate. In recent months, wildfires in Brasil have increased, mainly aggravated by human action. The problems that accelerate climate change has discussed in Rio de Janeiro at the technical and ministerial meetings of the G20 Climate and Environmental Sustainability Working Group. Listen to the report and learn more.

Reporter: The wildfires have become a critical environmental issue, with severe impacts on the environment, the economy, and public health. From an environmental point of view, the damage is enormous. The destruction of biomes such as the Amazon rainforest results in biodiversity loss and the regulation of the water cycle. 

From an economic point of view, the losses include issues such as loss of forest resources, damage to local and regional agriculture, and high costs of firefighting efforts. There are also public health implications, where smoke inhalation causes respiratory diseases. The Brazilian government, through Ibama, has already mobilized 3,500 professionals working in Amazonia, Cerrado, and Pantanal biomes.

The Federal Police has already opened 96 investigations to investigate the wildfires that have spread throughout Brasil. The findings indicate that most of the wildfires were caused intentionally. The Brazilian presidency has placed climate change as one of the main themes of the G20, as explained by André Aquino, coordinator of the Climate and Environmental Sustainability Working Group of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. 

André Aquino: So, basically, what we try to do is work with the G20 countries to agree on increasing the available financing, facilitating access to the financing that already exists, and ensuring that this money gets to where it should get, including more vulnerable countries. 

Reporter: Ana Paula Cunha, a drought researcher at the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts on Natural Disasters (Cemaden), reports that the period between 2023 and 2024 recorded the most intense and extensive drought since the agency began monitoring these events. 

Ana Paula Cunha: Looking backward, using historical data, we made this analysis to say, okay, this drought is very abnormal of everything we have ever seen, but, in recent history, is it the most intense, the most extensive? That is the point that made us make another analysis. So, based on two different data sources, we came to the same conclusion, and only then could we affirm something. For sure, it is the most intense and extensive wildfire in recent history.

Reporter: Another example of wildfires comes from the state of São Paulo, which in August of this year experienced one of the most critical periods, according to data presented by Fabiano Morelli, head of the Wildfire Program of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). 

Fabiano Morelli: This year, we had 5,281 recorded outbreaks. This difference represents a 378% increase in the same period. The meteorological conditions observed extensively favored the spread of fire during this period.

Reporter: On the world stage, the emission of greenhouse gases and global warming result in more severe and devastating weather phenomena, affecting all regions of the planet in different ways. Countries in Europe, the United States, and Asia have been facing record temperatures. With prolonged droughts in Africa, food production is at risk.

Issues involving climate problems will be discussed between October 1st and 3rd in Rio de Janeiro when the G20 Climate and Environmental Sustainability Working Group will hold technical and ministerial meetings.

Translated by PGET-UFSC