World · Latin America · 2 hrs ago
Brazil blames deliberate human action for fires in Amazonas state
Brazil says people deliberately started fires in Amazonas state, in the Amazon region.
The National Institute for Space Research recorded 540 new fire hotspots in 48 hours, more than half the total detected across the whole of October 2025.
The fires have led to emergency measures in 36 municipalities.
The environment minister said the fires could be intended to damage forest and prepare land for future clearing, and warned that those responsible should be punished.
Smoke prompted a health warning in the state capital, Manaus, because of air pollution.
El Niño may worsen dry conditions in the Amazon, although it does not establish who started the fires.
Municipal, state and federal teams are fighting the outbreaks, with aircraft, helicopters and hundreds of firefighters deployed.
Brazil’s government blamed deliberate human action for a wave of fires in Amazonas state.
The state recorded 540 new fire hotspots in 48 hours, according to the National Institute for Space Research.
A state of emergency has been declared in 36 municipalities.
Officials said the fires were burning in hard-to-reach forest areas, and a joint operation is working to put them out.
The fires coincide with an El Niño episode associated with drought in the Amazon.
- Who
- Brazil’s government blamed deliberate human action for the fires. Federal, state and municipal authorities are responding.
- What
- Fires have spread across Amazonas state, with 540 new hotspots recorded in 48 hours.
- When
- The reports were published on October 13, 2026. The institute recorded 494 fires on Saturday, October 10.
- Where
- Amazonas state, Brazil, including areas around the state capital, Manaus.
- Why
- The government said the fires resulted from deliberate action, possibly to degrade forest and prepare for future clearing. The fires coincide with an El Niño episode usually associated with Amazon drought.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Civil defence authorities in Manaus issued a health warning over air pollution from smoke.
The National Institute for Space Research recorded 494 fires starting in Amazonas state, the highest figure of the month.
Environment Minister João Paulo Capobianco and Integration Minister Waldez Góes flew over the region and observed fires in hard-to-reach forest areas.
The air force added two KC-390 aircraft to the firefighting response.
- New hotspots in 48 hours
- 540
- Fires recorded on October 10
- 494
- Municipalities under a state of emergency
- 36
- Ibama personnel deployed
- 290 firefighters
- Ibama aircraft deployed
- Four water-bombing aircraft and two helicopters
What people are saying
It is essential that those acting criminally see that they will be punished.
It is one thing to deploy all the forces we can to put out the fire. It is another to assist people who need humanitarian aid and medical care because of the fires.
Sources
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