A survey indicates that 50 municipalities have emergency decrees in force and that almost 25% of the state's territory faces drought and fire conditions. West Pará and Marajó are among the most affected regions.
By g1 Pará — Belém
Families El Niño worsens the drought and favors the spread of fires in the Amazon.
But the fires are predominantly human in origin, associated with practices such as deforestation and cleaning of areas.
The specific causes of the fires that will hit Pará in 2026 still need to be investigated. Due to the fires in Oeiras do Pará and Curralinho, in Marajó, they face difficulties in obtaining water and food.
More than 2.1 million people live in areas affected by drought and fire conditions in Pará, according to a survey by a platform that monitors the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon. Monitoring shows that 50 of the 144 municipalities in Pará have emergency decrees in force and that 24.9% of the state's territory faces drought and fire conditions.
The data comes from the El Niño Anticipation and Response Monitor (MARÉ), a free platform that gathers official information on the effects of the climate phenomenon. Western Pará and the Marajó archipelago appear among the regions most affected by forest fires.
The tool brings together information on emergency decrees, climate risks and impacts on the population. The objective is to monitor the situation of municipalities and support prevention and response measures to extreme events.
The numbers indicate the territorial and population size of the affected areas, but do not mean that all 2.1 million residents have directly suffered the same impacts.
Drought and fires affect communities
In the rural area of Monte Alegre, in western Pará, residents report the death of fish in lakes in the region, amid high temperatures and drought.
In an interview with TV Tapajós, a fisherman stated that different species were found dead.
"Several species of fish, hake, tucunaré and yam... have already died", he reported.
In the Marajó archipelago, forest fires have also caused material losses and difficulties in accessing food and water for families in affected communities.
The situation faced by residents of Marajó and western Pará was taken to the 31st United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP31), held in Türkiye.
Representatives of the National Council of Extractive Populations (CNS) denounced the impacts of the fires on communities and demanded measures from the authorities.
"In all the panels we are participating in, we are denouncing and asking for urgent action," said Letícia Moraes, vice-president of the council, in an interview with TV Liberal.
Pará is under environmental and climate emergency
The survey is released amid worsening drought and forest fires in the state.
On Wednesday (11), the Government of Pará published an environmental and climate emergency decree valid for 120 days throughout the state.
The measure suspends authorizations for the use of fire in Pará and establishes specific restrictions for fires in 31 municipalities, with exceptions provided for in the decree.
The 50 municipalities identified by monitoring and the 31 mentioned in the state decree represent different surveys. The first considers municipalities with emergency decrees in force, while the second establishes restrictions on the use of fire in specific locations.
According to data from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) released by g1 this Thursday (12), Pará recorded 2,295 hot spots in the previous five days and led the national ranking of fires.
Read also: Pará declares environmental and climate emergency due to drought
El Niño could prolong impacts into 2027
El Niño is a climate phenomenon characterized by the abnormal warming of surface waters in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, which can alter rainfall and temperature patterns in different regions of the planet.
In the North of Brazil, the phenomenon can favor periods of drought and high temperatures, increasing the conditions conducive to the occurrence of forest fires.
In August, the Government of Pará had already declared a climate and environmental alert situation for 180 days, with the aim of anticipating measures in the face of the expected impacts of El Niño in 2026 and 2027.
According to climate scientist Patrícia Ferrini, interviewed by TV Liberal, the effects of the phenomenon are expected to continue throughout 2027, even with the peak forecast in December 2026.
In addition to drought and fires, monitoring monitors health risks associated with extreme weather events, including respiratory problems related to smoke from fires and diseases that can be worsened by lack of access to water.
The MARÉ platform can be accessed free of charge via the internet, at monitorelnino.com.br.
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Fires hit the rural area of Anajás, in Marajó, and families ask for help. — Photo: Reproduction/Social media
