Brazil is battling a severe drought and wildfires that are out of control

Brazil is enduring its worst drought since national measurements began seven decades ago, with 59% of the country under stress – an area roughly half the size of the US.

The Amazon’s major rivers are registering historic declines, and uncontrolled wildfires have destroyed protected areas and spread smoke into the atmosphere, reducing air quality.

“This is the first time that a drought has hit from the North to the Southeast of the country,” said Ana Paula Cunha, a researcher at the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters, in a statement on Thursday. “It is the most intense and widespread drought in history.”

Smog on Monday afternoon made Sao Paulo, a city of 21 million people, the second most polluted air in the world after Lahore, Pakistan, according to data compiled by IQAir, a Swiss aviation technology company.

About 1,100 kilometers (683 miles) to the north, the wildfire is sweeping through Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, one of Brazil’s most popular tourist destinations.

“This year, the dry season started much earlier than in previous years, and the rainy season was intense but short,” said Nayara Stacheski, the head of the park, told the Associated Press. “The wind is strong, the humidity is very low and it is very hot. All this is fueling the wildfire.”

On Monday, there was one uncontrollable wildfire in a remote area. A helicopter was expected to arrive to transport the firefighters. Another fire was under control by 80 firefighters, supported by two helicopters. Two other fires were threatening to enter the park.

The flames are in one of the few protected areas in the Cerrado, Brazil’s savannah, the latest drama in a country hit by months of fires. From the beginning of the year until September 8, Brazil registered almost 160,000 fires, the worst year since 2010. In the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland, it was the second worst fire year on record.

Many fires are man-made as part of the process of clearing forests or clearing pastures and agricultural land. So far this year, an area the size of Italy has burned in Brazil.

Fire is not the only problem. Over 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Chapada dos Veadeiros to the Northeast, the Amazon – the most powerful river in the world – and its main tributary, the Madeira River, have registered new record lows every day in the city of Tabatinga. There is no end – heavy rain is not expected until October.

Low river levels have left many communities accessible only by water. One of the largest is Fidadelfia, home to 387 families of the Tikuna tribe. Due to the drought, there is a shortage of drinking water and children are drinking contaminated water, which leads to an increase in diseases. Food is becoming scarce as plants die and it is difficult to travel to the city, local leader Myrian Tikuna told AP.

Tikuna posted a selfie on Monday to his community. Instead of water, endless sand banks dominate the landscape.

“This used to be the Amazon River,” he said. “Now it’s a desert. If things get bad, our people will disappear. Now we are seeing the difficulties of climate change.”

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– Fabiano Maisonnave, Associated Press