Wildfires in Brazil’s Amazonas State Worsen Air Quality in Manaus
Officials said pollutant levels averaged 196 micrograms per cubic meter as the city suspended in-person work and urged residents to wear masks.
- On Friday, October 9, 2026, Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, suspended in-person work at municipal offices and canceled public school classes as pollutant concentrations averaged 196 micrograms per cubic meter, deemed unhealthy.
- Heavy smoke from wildfires in Amazonas and neighboring states has blanketed the city for several days, affecting 2.3 million residents as the dry season approaches its peak.
- Satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research recorded more than 3,700 fire hotspots in Amazonas during September, nearly four times the total from the previous year.
- Brazil's Environment Ministry deployed fire crews and aircraft to Amazonas and stepped up on-the-ground inspections to curb new fires and investigate illegal use of fire.
- Several studies suggest El Niño weather patterns could intensify effects in 2027, potentially disrupting the rainforest's next rainy season and compounding the current wildfire crisis.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Manaus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon, closed its public schools this Friday because of the smoke of hundreds of forest fires, which made the air quality “bad,” according to the mayor’s office.
NASA's image reveals the extent of the smoke on Manaus and AM this Friday in the midst of the advance of burns. Reproduction/Nasa Worldwide View A satellite image of Nasa recorded an extensive layer of smoke on the region of Manaus and Amazon areas this Friday (9). The record occurs in the midst of the advance of the burns in the state and the worsening of air quality in the capital, which dawned covered by a dense layer of smoke for the second …
The Brazilian Amazon is affected by El Niño, a climate phenomenon that raises temperatures and causes droughts in the region. The mayor’s office of Manaus, of 2.3 million inhabitants, attributed the deterioration of the air to the 749 fire bulbs counted Wednesday in Amazonas, the state of which is capital. “Both smoke and heat really contribute to us having problems breathing (...) is distressing,” he said to AFP Erlan de Santos, a 55-year-old p…
Associated Press News
Wildfires in Brazil’s Amazonas state worsen air quality in Manaus
Smoke from fires in Brazil's Amazonas state is disrupting life in Manaus, the Amazon's largest city.
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