Brazil’s Pantanal wetland ablaze

Brazil’s Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland on the planet, is ablaze, with fires in June breaking historical records for that month.

While aerial views of the wetland show smoke rising and the bright orange of burning fires, a closer look at burnt vegetation found charred skeletons of wildlife, including an alligator, monkey and snake, photos from Reuters showed last week. Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (INPE) has detected 733 fires in the Pantanal biome so far this month, with the previous record for fires in Pantanal for June being 435 registered in 2005.

The state of Mato Grosso do Sul, which encompasses 60% of the Brazilian Pantanal, is under a “danger” warning for a heat wave expected to hit with temperatures 5 degrees Celsius higher than average for the next three to five days, according to Brazil’s National Meteorological Institute (INMET).

The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Brazil has warned that the entire year of 2024 could become the worst year on record for the Pantanal as the dry season is just beginning, and the number of fires this year already represents an increase of 898% compared to the same period in 2023, according to INPE’s data.

“It is necessary to act quickly reinforcing fire brigades and counting with the support of the local communities to avoid a catastrophe,” said Cynthia Santos, conservation analyst for WWF Brazil, in a statement.

The Pantanal’s distinctive habitats rely on what scientists call the “flood pulse.” During the wet season between November and March, three quarters of the plain gets flooded, only for much of the water to drain away during the dry months, from April to September. This seasonal flooding makes the Pantanal a unique biome where large swaths of land regularly turn from terrestrial into aquatic habitats and back again.

Wetlands like the Pantanal are the earth’s most effective carbon sinks – ecosystems that absorb and store more carbon than they release, keeping it away from the atmosphere. At roughly 200,000 square kilometers, the Pantanal comprises about 3% of the globe’s wetlands and plays a key role in the carbon cycle.

When these carbon-rich ecosystems burn, vast amounts of heat-trapping gases are released back into the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Pantanal boasts the greatest concentration of wildlife in South America – higher than that of its more famous northern neighbor, the Amazon.

The area is home to thousands of endangered or unusual species, including jaguars, capybaras, black caimans, giant otters and hyacinth macaws.(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn

相关词汇

【燃烧】ránshāo

ablaze

burning strongly

【灾难】 zāinàn

catastrophe

a sudden event that causes great trouble or destruction

地球上最大的热带湿地巴西潘塔纳尔正在熊熊燃烧，6月的大火打破了该月的历史记录。

路透社上周拍摄的照片显示，从空中俯瞰湿地，浓烟滚滚，大火呈现明亮的橙色，而镜头拉近到烧毁的植被则会发现野生动物烧焦的骨架，有鳄鱼、猴子和蛇。

巴西国家空间研究所（INPE）本月迄今已在潘塔纳尔生物群落检测到733起火灾，此前 6月潘塔纳尔的火灾记录是2005年的435 起。据巴西国家气象研究所（INMET）称，南马托格罗索州占巴西潘塔纳尔地区面积的 60%，该州正处于热浪“危险”警告之下，预计未来三到五天的气温将比平均气温高 5ºC。世界野生动物基金会巴西分会（WWF Brazil）警告说，由于旱季刚刚开始，2024 年可能是潘塔纳尔史上最糟糕的一年，而根据INPE的数据，今年的火灾数量与 2023 年同期相比已经增加了 898%。

WWF Brazil分析师辛西娅•桑托斯在一份声明中说：“必须迅速采取行动，加强消防力量，在当地社区的支持下避免灾难发生。”

潘塔纳尔独特的湿地依存于科学家所谓的“季节性洪水”。每年11月到次年3月是雨季，彼时四分之三的平原会被洪水淹没，而在每年4月到9月是旱季，大部分洪水又会排走。这种季节性洪水使潘塔纳尔成为一个独特的生物群落，在这里，大片土地经常从陆地变成水生栖息地，再从水生栖息地变回陆地。

像潘塔纳尔这样的湿地是地球上最有效的碳汇 — — 这类生态系统吸收和储存的碳多于释放的碳，从而避免碳进入大气。潘塔纳尔湿地面积约20万平方公里，约占全球湿地面积的3%，在碳循环中发挥关键作用。

当这些富含碳的生态系统燃烧时，大量温室气体被释放回大气中，加剧温室效应。

根据世界自然基金会的数据，潘塔纳尔是南美洲野生动物大本营，其动物种群比它北面的亚马逊还要多。

这里栖息着数以千计的濒危或稀有物种，包括美洲虎、水豚、黑凯门鳄、巨型水獭和风信子金刚鹦鹉。

(Translated by Debra)