Smoke from fires leaves air quality 'dangerous' in Manaus; index exceeds WHO recommendation by 59 times

At around 6 am, the capital of Amazonas recorded 441 points on the air quality index, the worst result among Brazilian capitals in real time. The main pollutant identified was fine particulate matter (PM2.5), with a concentration of 295.9 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³).

The WHO recommends that the annual average of PM2.5 does not exceed 5 µg/m³. The value recorded in Manaus at that time was 59.2 times higher than this reference.

The difference in relation to the second most polluted capital in the ranking was also significant. Porto Velho (RO) registered 65 points in the air quality index, against 441 in Manaus, according to IQAir.

Data from the Electronic Environmental Surveillance System (Selva), from the State University of Amazonas (UEA), also indicated a worsening in air quality. At around 6:55 am, the indices were classified as "terrible" in the monitored points of the capital. In one of them, the particle concentration reached 456.4 µg/m³.

Air quality is considered good by Selva when the concentration of particles is between 0 and 25 µg/m³. Above this level, the indices undergo classifications that vary from moderate to terrible, depending on the scale used by the system.