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South America is experience record - breaking fervour , which have led to " pitch-black pelting , " fleeceable rivers and hazardousair pollutionalmost50 times higherthan the floor recommended by the World Health Organization , according to the air quality monitoring company IQair .
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 16 , the continent recorded 364,485forest fires , outperform the 2007 record of 345,322 fervour , according to datum from theBrazilian Space Research InstituteandReuters .
A house destroyed by fires in Sao Paulo state, Brazil, on Aug. 25, 2024.
Thehistoric drought in the Amazonhas worsened the spreading of the flack . Many of the blast have been assign to human activity , but the drought has created friendly atmospheric condition for their speedy spread . As a solution , 60 % of Brazil ’s territory is presently dissemble by smoke .
Including neighboring countries and the Atlantic Ocean , the arena affect by the toxic cloud now cross 4 million solid miles ( 10 million straight kilometers ) — an area declamatory than the total United States .
" Theair lineament in Brazilhas never been worse,“Alessandra Fidelis , a research worker at the Plant Ecology Laboratory of the State University of São Paulo , told Live Science .
Algae pollution in the Pinheiros River in Sao Paulo caused the water to turn green in September.
Natalia Gil , an atmospheric skill expert and appendage of the Air Quality and Emissions Department at the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay , told Live Science there has been a progressive declension in air quality in urban center across southerly Brazil , northerly Argentina , Bolivia , Paraguay and northeastern Uruguay .
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In recent weeks , Gil observed " a significant increase " in black carbon paper , particulate thing and gases such as ozone , nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide in city as far - flung as Buenos Aires , São Paulo , Londrina , Rio de Janeiro , Cochabamba and La Paz . In Uruguay ’s majuscule , Montevideo , resident physician have poor visibility for several days due to the dumb weed cloud and black pelting — hurriedness that turns dark due to the miscellany of ash tree and crock — enter in multiple section of the country . The same site occurred across11 Argentine state , including the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires .
Air pollution over Sao Paulo on Sept. 11.
In São Paulo , meanwhile , the Pinheiros River turned emerald honey oil due to an alga bloom trip by the severe drought .
Paulo Saldiva , a pathologist and professor at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine , compare the smoke produced by burn biomass to cigaret smoking , noting that both moderate toxic substances that enter the physical structure through the eye , respiratory parcel and lungs . In a metropolis like São Paulo , for example , the tier of vehicular and industrial pollution is equivalent to fume four to five fag daily . However , for those let out to smoke from forest ardor over long period , the shock is akin to " light one cigarette after another , " Saldiva say .
Environmental changes in recent decades , along with shifts in commonwealth habit , have significantly altered fire regimes . While Brazil has always get dry season , the mediocre number of consecutive rainless days has increased from 80 to 100 in the last decade , indicating a worsening of mood - link wallop , Fidelis noted . " The forest is more susceptible to burning , even with the reduction in deforestation rates . It has become more flammable , " Fidelis said .
In addition to change in downfall , arise temperatures , soil moisture and carbon copy dioxide levels can regulate the timing , extent , continuance , frequency and intensity of fires , Luis López - Mársico , a researcher at the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the University of the Republic of Uruguay , assure Live Science .
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In much of Brazil , these changes manifest as high temperatures , reduced rain , and , most notably , an addition in extreme drought result , which prolong the so - called " ardour time of year , "
All of this constitutes a " new normal , " according to Fidelis . " We need to start realise that we are manage with a new factor we once thought of as a future scenario , but which is now our realness : climate change , " she said .
