Wildfires in Brazil scorched an area almost equivalent to the size of Cyprus in January-March, but still 70pc less than in the same period in 2024 as the rainy season was above average in most of the north-central part of the country this year.
The wildfires spread out over 912,900 hectares (ha) in the first three months of 2025, down from 2.1mn ha in the same period of 2024, according to environmental network MapBiomas' fire monitor researching program. The reduced burnt areas are related to the rainy season in most of the country, but still-high wildfire levels in the Cerrado biome showed that specific strategies are necessary for each biome to prevent further climate-related impacts, researchers said.
The Cerrado lost 91,700ha to wildfires in the first quarter, up by 12pc from a year before and more than double from the average since 2019.
Burnt areas in the Atlantic forest also increased 18,800ha in the period, up by 7pc from a year earlier. Wildfire-damaged areas in the southern Pampa biome, or low grasslands, grew by 1.4pc to 6,600ha.
The Amazon biome lost over 774,000ha to wildfires in the first quarter of 2025, a 72pc drop from a year earlier, while it accounted for almost 52pc of burnt areas in March. The loss represented 84pc of the total burnt land in the period.
Burnt areas in the central-western Pantanal biome, or tropical wetland, fell by 86pc in the first quarter to 10,900ha. The northeastern Caatinga biome, or seasonally dry tropical forest, lost around 10,000ha in burnt areas, down by 8pc from the same period in 2024. Reductions may not persist as a drought season will begin in May and is expected to be severe, according to Mapbiomas. Last year, an extended drought season prompted burnt areas to grow by 79pc from 2023.
Northern Roraima state was the state to suffer the most from wildfires in the period, with 415,700ha lost to wildfires during its distinct drought season in the beginning of the year, while other states faced a rainy season. Northern Para and northeastern Maranhao followed, with 208,600ha and 123,800ha of burnt areas, respectively.
Wildfires hit over 24,730ha of soybean fields in the period, a 29pc decrease from a year earlier, while burnt areas in sugarcane fields fell by 31pc to around 7,280ha.
Wildfires hit 106,600ha of the country in March, a 86pc decrease from 674,900ha a year earlier.
| Burnt areas in March | ha | |
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| Amazon | 55,172 | 732,929 |
| Cerrado | 37,937 | 20,995 |
| Atlantic Forest | 9,262 | 4,509 |
| Caatinga | 2,296 | 755 |
| Pampa | 1,514 | 127 |
| Pantanal | 562 | 21,799 |
| Total | 106,641 | 781,114 |
| — Mapbiomas - Monitor do fogo | ||
