Smoke From Fires Reaches Southern and Southeastern Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The humid winds blowing from the Amazon into the southern and southeastern regions have carried smoke from forest fires to several cities in São Paulo and Paraná.

The smoke comes from fires in the Cerrado (scrubland) and the Amazon, but also from neighboring countries such as Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay. The phenomenon was verified on Wednesday, September 18th, and reached the city of São Paulo on Thursday, September 19th.

Satellite images from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) show that the smoke, which covered several cities of São Paulo and Paraná on Thursday, shifted from regions in Bolivia, Paraguay and the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.

The satellites of the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Program show high concentrations of aerosol, indicative of burning smoke, reaching areas of the South and Southeast at 7 PM this Thursday.

The high concentration of carbon monoxide (CO) in the air is also indicative of the transport of smoke by the winds. According to the Windy.com map, the high concentration of CO has reached the capital of São Paulo.

According to meteorologists, the state of São Paulo is under the influence of a cold front, which has brought rains, while the Midwest region remains with low humidity.

“Much of central Brazil is dominated by dry fog, which is composed of dry dust and suspended smoke. This is still happening in the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, and Tocantins,” says Francisco de Assis, a meteorologist at INMET (National Institute of Meteorology).

“This dry fog condition has been around for many days and it’s because of the drought, which brought very low humidity levels,” explains Assis. On Tuesday, September 17th, some cities in the region recorded humidity levels below ten percent.

According to Assis, the humid winds are blowing from the Amazon towards the South and Southeast and crossing this dry fog region in the Midwest. They can carry the dry fog particles to other regions. In the states of São Paulo and Paraná, these winds find a cold front that is causing rainfall in the region.

Source: G1