A land suffocating in smoke

PORTO VELHO, SEPTEMBER 2024: In a field of charred logs, a single tree remains standing under a sky filled with smoke.

On the ground, the landscape is one of scorched earth and widespread destruction. The smoke is felt in the eyes, nose and skin.

Roads, known locally as "ramais", cut through the terrain and provide access to rural properties and invasions seized for cattle, right up to the edge of the Jacundá National Forest, in the region of Candeias do Jamari, Rondônia. We are 65 km from the state capital, Porto Velho.

The fire burns through pasture and dry vegetation, with flames still alight at various points along the roadsides. Soot spreads over the ground, and the horizon of smoke is gray—something dull, stretching endlessly, preventing the eyes from recognizing shapes only meters away.

The smell of smoke embeds itself in the body.

The air is almost unbreathable.

These fires are the source of waves of smoke that have been covering Porto Velho for weeks, turning the city into one of the worst places to breathe in the world.

Breathing in Hazardous Conditions

For four consecutive days, the air quality in Porto Velho has been deemed unsafe for the city's 460 000 inhabitants to breathe.

Life in the city has become a torment. Flights frequently turn around due to landing impossibilities at the airport caused by visibility issues from the smoke. Departing flights are canceled continuously, leaving Rondônia residents waiting up to six days to return home, vying for seats on planes capable of landing.

Instead, he promotes a development project in the Amacro region (comprising Rondônia, Acre, and southern Amazonas), one of the main arcs of Amazonian devastation. Much of the state's conservation units are invaded by squatters and land grabbers, with the local government's connivance.

Among Porto Velho residents and those in surrounding areas, there's an atmosphere of indifference and acceptance, as if the local climate crisis isn't linked to the disruption of the forest by invaders. It's common for local residents and authorities to assert that the smoke mainly originates from southern Amazonas and Pará.

Unprecedented Fires and Smoke

IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) officials say that Rondônia has never before seen fires and smoke waves like those during the 2024 dry season.

The fire spreads amid another year of extreme drought, with river levels—especially the Madeira River through Porto Velho—reaching historic lows. The crisis is driven by a combination of factors, such as El Niño, which is above-average warming in the Pacific Ocean, climate change, and degradation at various points in the Amazon.

Tracking the fires

IBAMA in Rondônia uses satellite images to monitor fire and smoke. These images show that the fires began to intensify at the end of July in state conservation units, typically invaded by squatters.

At the beginning of August, the images indicated smoke originating from Bolivia and southern Amazonas. After a few days, Mato Grosso and Pará also contributed to the smoke waves.

The situation worsened throughout August and reached critical levels from the 22nd, with uncontrollable fires in Rondônia itself. Being engulfed by smoke at levels considered dangerous to human health is a reality throughout practically the entire state.

Crisis alert

The fire continues to consume vegetation in the region responsible for a substantial part of the smoke invading Porto Velho. Fire is an inexpensive way to clear pasture for cattle, open an area, and secure occupation.

A pattern of connected roads expands the areas available for clearing, with properties extending close to the National Forest of Jacundá, a federal conservation unit.

In this region, where the vegetation is devoured by fire for days, the sun does not bother the eyes, and there is almost no noise.

Fires and smoke have driven away vehicle traffic.

According to IBAMA and locals, the starting point for squatters' advances was a rural settlement.

"Everyone here has a purchase and sale contract. I, for instance, bought the property from a settler," states Moisés Dias da Cruz, 23, who lives in the area with his wife and two daughters, one 4 years old and the other 4 months. The girls spend days in an air-conditioned room due to the smoke waves. Everything around Cruz's house caught fire.

"The fire and smoke in 2024 are worse because it's too dry," says Cruz, who has lived in the area of line LP45—one of the roads cutting through what was once a forest—since 2020.

"Most of it is criminal fire. The fire appears, and everyone runs to extinguish it. It's been 20 consecutive days of smoke."

There are larger farms by other roads. On LP45, the "posse mansa"—a term locals use to describe the purchase of possessions and improvements—prevails.

Along the road, there are giant smoke columns from recently initiated fires. Predominantly, there is continuous, enduring dense smoke, which conceals the very fire points detected by satellites. The wind spreads the embers, propagating fire in forest areas.

No natural fire

The superintendent of IBAMA in Rondônia, César Guimarães, states that the 205 firefighters from Prevfogo (National Center for Prevention and Combat of Forest Fires) are focused on federal conservation units and indigenous lands.

"The fire is criminal; there is no natural fire," says Guimarães. "Nothing is cheaper than a matchstick."

There are fires throughout the state, with a dense layer of smoke, and a water crisis in which 18 municipalities have declared emergencies, according to Jaime Fernandes, operational coordinator of Rondônia's Civil Defense. "The fire outbreaks are abnormal, and firefighter reinforcements from other states are expected."

Since August 1st, Rondônia registered more than 5,000 hotspots, according to INPE (National Institute for Space Research). The Amazon states leading in burning are Pará (almost 17,000), Amazonas (11,400), and Mato Grosso (8,700).