The interior of the state of Amazonas has been affected by a persistent drought triggered by El Niño, resulting in low moisture content in surface vegetation. Farmers burning fields to clear forest land have caused multiple new, contiguous fire hotspots to emerge. The open fires continue to consume understory vegetation, deadwood, and young trees, directly destroying the habitats of numerous amphibians and reptiles. The PM2.5, carbon monoxide, and volatile pollutants released by the fires have coalesced into thick plumes of smoke, which are drifting toward nearby towns and riverside settlements with the prevailing winds, causing regional atmospheric particulate matter concentrations to exceed health alert thresholds.
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