The Brazilian city of Porto Velho, with almost half a million peoplelives immersed in a cloud of smoke caused by the wave of fires that is ravaging the Amazon in the worst drought in the last 75 years.
“The weather is nice, but there is a bit of smoke”the pilot warns during the approach.
It’s a lucky day, because dozens of flights have been cancelled over the past month due to poor visibility.
Still, leaving the airport is like entering a smoking room: The throat becomes dry, the eyes sting and a whitish haze prevents one from seeing far away.
A woman tries to put out a fire with a hose next to her house on the banks of the Madeira River on Monday in Porto Velho, in the state of Rondonia (Brazil).
According to IQAir, a company that measures air quality, Porto Velho is currently the most polluted city in Brazil, with levels that far exceed those of megalopolises such as New Delhi or Sao Paulo.
The concentration of particulate matter, which easily infiltrates the lungs and blood and can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, reached 194 micrograms per cubic metre on Monday, 13 times higher than the daily level recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The city is the capital of Rondonia, a state bordering Bolivia that was once entirely covered by jungle and now has a large part of its territory occupied by soybeans or cattle.
“Blue, our sky is always blue, may God keep it unrivalled,” proclaim the lyrics of a regional anthem in need of updating.
Jorge Suárez, a 50-year-old municipal worker who repairs the pavements, says he can’t remember the last time he saw the famous blue sky in the anthem. Maybe two months or more?
“It’s the worst drought I’ve ever seen”he says, before setting out his theories on the origin of the fires: a piece of glass or a beer can on which a ray of sunlight has bounced.
The Madeira River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon, is at minimum levels as it passes through the city of Porto Velho. Photo EFE
The Brazilian Amazon has seen more than 80,000 fires so far this year, twice as many as last year, which was already considered a disaster. According to the government, almost all of them were caused by man, not by a piece of glass.
The Madeira River hits a historic low
On the shore of Porto Velho facing the Madeira River, aor the main tributaries of the Amazon, Gracemery Martins uses her garden hose to fight a small fire that is rapidly growing in front of her house.
“Irresponsible, what a shame, who would think of that?”this 67-year-old teacher, who has already taught Ecology and Environment courses to her students, muses, indignant and sweaty.
It seems that the neighbour has ignored the ban on fires imposed by the regional government and has wanted to burn rubbish in the backyard. With the vegetation dry due to the lack of rain, the fire has gotten out of control.
Martins called the fire brigade, but was told they were too overwhelmed to deal with a minor blaze.
Thirty years ago, he moved to this part of the city for the beautiful views of the river and the sunset. But Madeira is at its lowest level ever and can barely be seen through the fog.
At sunset, the sun turns as red as fire. She, who is married to a poet, says that the star is calling for “help from human folly.”
“If you destroy the environment, you are destroying yourself. The human mind does not learn, but we can only continue fighting,” he says, hose in hand.
