Amazon fires blanket Manaus as Brazil probes political motive

Pará leads active fires with 922 hotspots as Santarém AQI hits 260

The Amazon rainforest has entered the early stages of what could become a prolonged and severe fire season, scientists say, with more than 1,900 fire hotspots recorded across the biome so far in October. The blazes have triggered a severe environmental and public health crisis in northern Brazil, with thick smoke forcing authorities in Manaus to suspend classes at public schools and in-person work on Monday while health facilities dealt with an influx of patients suffering from respiratory problems.

The federal government is investigating whether coordinated criminal activity, potentially driven by political motives, is behind the widespread fires. Brazilian authorities reported that fires in protected forests showed a “distinctive geometric pattern,” prompting an investigation into whether they were deliberately set as part of a coordinated effort linked to illegal land seizures or political motives ahead of the presidential runoff.

Brazil’s satellite monitoring system recorded 1,679 fire hotspots in Amazonas state during the first two weeks of October alone, far exceeding the 874 detected throughout October 2025. Fire activity across the Amazon biome surged following the country’s Oct. 4 elections. Although wildfires are not unusual in the region at this time of year, the recent increase has drawn researchers’ attention. Ane Alencar, science director of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, told Repórter Brasil: “This is not unusual. But what we have seen is a sharp increase in the number of fire hotspots following the first round of voting.”

Environment and Climate Change Minister João Paulo Capobianco said human activity caused the fires and pledged an investigation to identify those responsible, according to Agência Brasil. Capobianco recalled similar incidents of deliberately set fires in 2024, during what became known as the “Day of Fire,” when more than 2,000 fires were recorded simultaneously in São Paulo and Pará.

Pará has the highest number of active fires in Brazil, with 922 hotspots recorded by the National Institute for Space Research’s Queimadas fire monitoring platform. Neighboring Amazonas state reported 90 active fires after recording more than 1,000 fire hotspots earlier this month, according to Agência Brasil.

Dense smoke has engulfed metropolitan Manaus, a city of 2.3 million people, and surrounding communities, pushing air quality to hazardous levels. Authorities suspended classes at public schools and urged residents to wear face masks. Air quality in Manaus was classified as unhealthy Monday morning, with an air quality index of 153, according to IQAir. In Santarém, in western Pará, the index reached 260, a level considered very unhealthy.

NASA data indicate that drought conditions associated with El Niño have left the Amazon rainforest increasingly vulnerable to fires this year. “Fires around Santarém and Manaus are part of a cascade of fires across the tropics that accompanies changes in rainfall patterns associated with El Niño,” said Douglas Morton, an Earth system scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Beginning in September, satellites detected a sharp increase in fire activity and smoke emissions across the central and eastern Amazon, according to monitoring platforms including NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, the Global Fire Emissions Database and NASA Worldview. The affected region stretches from forests surrounding the commercial and transportation hubs of Manaus and Santarém to the mouth of the Amazon River.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government has announced additional emergency measures, focusing on remote forest areas around Manaus, where firefighters and emergency crews are working to contain the flames. Experts warned that continued rainfall shortages could push the fire risk farther north in the coming months, potentially threatening neighboring Venezuela and Guyana.