SMOKE from wildfires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has been causing health problems throughout the region, causing coughing, burning throats and sore eyes.
Large swathes of the country have been covered in smoke in recent days from fires raging across the Amazon, Cerrado savannah, Pantanal wetland and the state of Sao Paulo.
Many residents are struggling including Fatima Silva, a 60-year-old farmer in the Amazonian town of Labrea.
“I am not well. I am feeling short of breath, my throat hurts, my eyes need eye drops, I can’t go out on the street, I can’t go anywhere because everything is white with smoke,” Silva told reporters on Wednesday.
“My grandchildren, my children, everyone is getting sick. Today it got even worse. No-one can stand it,” she said.
There were 53,620 fire spots in the Amazon between January 1 and August 27 – an 83 per cent increase from the same period last year, according to federal agency the National Institute for Space Research.
Across the Amazon, many areas were classified as having “very bad” or “terrible” air pollution on Wednesday, according to the the State University of Amazonas’ environmental monitoring system.
In cases of wildfires and due to the resulting smoke, Amazonas state’s civil defence authority has recommended staying hydrated and remaining indoors.
But street vendors, rubbish collectors and other workers have to work outside and can’t avoid the smoke.
Even worse, because they have to work harder to breathe in those conditions they inhale more of the dangerous particles into their lungs, according to Jesem Orellana, a resident of Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon, and an epidemiologist and researcher at the state-run Fiocruz Institute.
Residents of Manaus have come to expect “the smoke of death” in mid-September and October when fires and deforestation approximately peak, but this year the smoke became a problem much earlier, he added.
“That means that we are exposed to this toxic smoke for an even longer period of time, which has direct implications for the health of the population,” Mr Orellana told reporters.
And the smoke’s impact goes beyond physical health, he said, causing anxiety which can impact sleep quality.
Maria Soledade Barros Silva, who lives in the Ponta Negra neighbourhood of Manaus, said the nearby riverside beach was clouded with thick smog.
“It’s not normal. I’ve lived here for 40 years. We didn’t have this before,” Ms Silva said.
“I think this is the worst place in the world. We are asking for help, because we can’t live like this any more,” she said.
