The Brazilian Amazon rainforest witnessed a record number of fires in 2024, the highest in 17 years, following several months of drought, as revealed by Brazilian authorities.

According to the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), satellite images revealed 140,328 fires in 2024, which is 42% more than the number in 2023 when recording 98,634 fires. In 2007, the concerned authorities recorded 186,463 fires.

But the total area affected by deforestation may be the lowest in years.

At the beginning of November, the National Institute for Space Research indicated that deforestation in the region between the end of August 2023 and the end of August 2024 had decreased by more than 30%, reaching its lowest level in 9 years.

Brazilian President Lula has made the preservation of the Amazon region a priority for his government, which will host the United Nations Climate Conference "COP30" in the city of Belém in the Amazon next November.

According to the European Copernicus Climate Change Service, wildfires in South America have particularly worsened due to severe drought.

And at times, thick columns of smoke covered large cities like Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, leading to suffocating pollution for weeks.

The Amazon region has been affected by drought since mid-2023, due to climate change caused by human activity and the El Niño climatic phenomenon.

While the drought has fueled the wave of fires, experts say that most of them were deliberately set to clear land for agricultural purposes.

Scientists warn that continued deforestation will put the Amazon region on a path to emitting more carbon than it absorbs, accelerating climate change.