Smoke once again covered Manaus for the third consecutive day this Saturday morning (10), and the concentration of particles reached 209.1 µg/m³ in one of the monitored points in the Amazonian capital. The index exceeds by 736.4% the limit of 25 µg/m³ used by the Electronic Environmental Surveillance System (Selva), of the State University of Amazonas (UEA), to classify air quality as good.
At around 6 am, the sensor installed at the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema), in the Central-South Zone, registered 209.1 µg/m³, a level classified as terrible. In the central region of the city, the concentration reached 164.1 µg/m³, while the sensor in Morro da Liberdade recorded 157.2 µg/m³. The three points had air quality that was considered terrible.
In only two points in the capital of Amazonas, the air quality was considered moderate.
Manaus remains under alert this Saturday. According to the city hall, the status has been changed since September 24th. The classification is adopted when one or more occurrences affect the city and a high-impact event is predicted in the short term.
Other municipalities also record worsening air quality
The worsening also affected municipalities in the Metropolitan Region of Manaus. In Itacoatiara, the concentration of particles reached 2,016.1 µg/m³, around 6 am. In the city, Civil Defense issued an alert around 8:20 am, recommending the use of masks when leaving home and asking the population to avoid exposure to smoke.
In Careiro, the index reached 121.4 µg/m³, a level classified as very poor. In Careiro da Várzea, the platform index reached 144.1, also at a level considered terrible.
Satellite images consulted on the Worldview platform also show the extent of smoke over the region. In the image, the smoke layer appears in shades of gray, while the clouds are seen in white.
Smoke causes emergency calls
The effects of smoke also worry health authorities. According to the State Department of Health of Amazonas (SES-AM), 82 emergency visits were recorded related to the possible effects of smoke from fires in Manaus between October 1st and 8th.
Since July 1st, the secretariat's monitoring has recorded 375 calls related to the effects of smoke in the capital. According to SES-AM, there was a significant increase in registrations in the last week.
The data also undergoes qualification of clinical information to identify cases effectively compatible with exposure to smoke. The secretariat emphasizes that the records, in isolation, do not allow establishing a cause and effect relationship between exposure and the symptoms presented.
Reported symptoms include shortness of breath, cough, throat irritation, headache, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and fatigue.
Residents report problems breathing
To g1, residents reported problems breathing, throat irritation, sleepless nights and work losses. For the second day in a row, the capital of Amazonas recorded the worst air quality in Brazil, according to the international platform IQAir.
Self-employed Márcia Mendes, who has rhinitis and sinusitis, reported that pollution has worsened her respiratory problems. According to her, the smoke causes throat irritation, nasal congestion and sneezing attacks throughout the day. At night, difficulty breathing and headaches affect sleep.
As she works in sales and needs to talk to customers for most of the day, Márcia says that exposure to pollution increases throat discomfort and makes her professional routine difficult. Even with the symptoms, she needs to leave the house to guarantee her income.
"Manaus, in Amazonas, is known as the lungs of the world, but we are suffocating with all this smoke. It is harming everyone," he said.
Self-employed Valdeci Moraes de Castro reported that pollution invades even homes and makes it difficult to rest. He criticized the lack of responses from public authorities and expressed concern about the effects of smoke on the population, especially the elderly and people with respiratory problems.
"You can't even sleep at home. All the smoke enters the room. The air is horrible," said Valdeci in an interview with g1.
He said the situation also affects those who need to leave their homes for basic activities, such as buying food, and advocated the use of masks to reduce exposure to smoke.
