published in the journal Frontiers in Water.
“The recent drought in the Pantanal was caused by a meteorological phenomenon we call atmospheric blocking. A high-pressure area prevented the formation of rainclouds throughout the central-western portion of South America. Temperatures were very high and relative humidity very low,”
José Marengo, a researcher at CEMADEN and principal investigator for the study, told
Agência FAPESP.
“Lack of rain combined with high temperatures and very low humidity led to a heightened risk of fire, which extended to agricultural areas as well as natural parts of the biome.”
Deliberate burning of vegetation to clear land for cattle ranching contributed to the spread of wildfires throughout the region, and these were harder to control owing to the long period of drought. “Fires caused on one hand by warmer air and lack of rain in the Pantanal, and on the other by the burning of areas to clear the vegetation for cattle to graze, resulted in environmental disaster,” Marengo said.