The wave of fires that has been occurring in most of Latin America is unprecedented. The phenomenon has been in force for a couple of months in Amazonian countries such as Brazil, Peru, and Colombia.

According to a CNN report, only in two areas of Peru there are no fires (Ica and Iquitos), according to Gustavo Adrianzén, president of the Peruvian Council of Ministers.}

Brazil, on the other hand, faced a large number of these phenomena last month, which, according to The New York Times, could reshape the Amazon rainforest. In addition, the impact was felt in neighboring countries such as Bolivia and Argentina due to the smoke that reached those borders.

Now it is the turn of Colombia, which has been dealing with large heat waves, aggravated by the fires that have been occurring in areas such as Huila, Cundinamarca, and Tolima, where, according to authorities, 249 forest fires have been recorded in 2024.

A mixture of changes in weather patterns and bad practices of inhabitants of the regions where fires occur would explain the problem.

First, climate changes have been evidenced by a considerable reduction in rainfall. For example, in Colombia, the president of the Empresa de Acueducto de Bogota revealed in an interview with La República newspaper that "August was the driest month in 55 years, we did not even have 45% of the historical rainfall".

It is clear that weather patterns have changed radically and that there are now sudden and acute environmental phenomena that can impact the vegetation of an area and create situations conducive to fires. The other phenomenon is the age-old practice of burning trees and forests to make way for activities such as cattle ranching and agriculture.

In the article in The New York Times is said: “Deforestation is still a big problem in South America. The Cerrado grasslands, in the east of Brazil, continue to lose much of their tree cover as farmers plant soy crops that can cover areas as big as whole cities. And, while deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has slowed, it is still happening at a faster pace than the forest’s recovery rate.”

The U.S. newspaper consulted expert Luiz Aragão, who warned that deforestation is one of the most critical problems facing the governments of Amazonian countries."If fires are a direct consequence of deforestation, then a policy to fight deforestation should also be effective against fires," said the scientist.

The world must address this fire phenomenon in various parts of Latin America. These fires are taking away a good part of the region's ecosystems; the fires, added to phenomena such as gales, torrential downpours, and floods, among others, show that something is wrong with the climate and the environment. We must monitor the phenomenon.