Brazil Amazon’s September Fires Drop Lowest For First Time In 2 Decades

The number of fires in Brazil’s Amazon during September dropped to the lowest for the month in two decades, according to data from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research.

September is historically Brazil’s worst month for forest fires and, while the data is positive, environmental experts question whether the trend will be confirmed by coming months.

The number of Amazon fires was just over half the level recorded in September last year, according to the data.

That helped push down the nationwide total, along with a sharp drop in the amount of fires in the Pantanal wetlands.

Fires in September retreated to the lowest number for the month since 2018, several months before President Jair Bolsonaro took office.

Since taking office, Bolsonaro has encouraged development within the Amazon and dismissed global complaints about its destruction as a plot to hold back the nation’s agribusiness.

His administration also weakened environmental authorities and backed legislative measures to loosen land protections, emboldening land grabbers.

More recently, he has sought to demonstrate heightened environmental commitment in the face of criticism from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and troubled institutional investors.

At the United Nations this month, he credited his administration’s redoubled efforts for the plunge of Amazon deforestation alerts in August, which followed a year-on-year decline in July.

September results will be released in the coming week.