DOI: 10.7910/dvn/uozq5o
title: Intense fires and thermal anomalies detected near Manaus, the Brazilian Amazon's capital.

description: We have already crossed seven planetary boundaries related to the Earth's stability and resilience. The two most critical boundaries we have crossed are Climate Change and Biosphere Integrity (1).

The anthropogenic climate change is amplifying the frequency and intensity of global heatwaves and air pollution events (2), significantly impacting both human health and the environment.

Since the Industrial Revolution, Brazil has become the fourth largest global emitter of CO2, releasing 113 gigatons (Gt) of CO2, of which 97 Gt (86%) originate from land use and forests (3).

Brazilian Amazon released more carbon than it absorbed over past 10 years. From 2010 through 2019, Brazil’s Amazon basin gave off 16.6bn tonnes of CO2, while drawing down only 13.9bn tonnes (4).

In addition, researchers have observed thousands of fires in the brazilian Amazon every year, with especially intense activity during the dry months of July through November (5).

Despite all these facts and numerous instances of damage, the surroundings of Manaus, the capital city of the Brazilian Amazon, have once again been suffering from excessive heat and heavy smoke.

In the summer of 2023 in several cities of the brazilian Amazon, the air quality index for PM2.5 particulate matter consistently exceeded 150 μg/m3, which is considered unhealthy (151-200 μg/m3), very harmful (201-300 μg/m3), or even hazardous (above 300 μg/m3) to health. This was the case on October 11, 2023, when in Manaus city, the PM2.5 level of 414.6 μg/m3 was recorded.

Almost every day in September and October 2023, Manaus citizens have been waking up and going to bed with a lot of smoke, except for when it rains. The population has been left in the dark regarding the locations of the wildfires as well as whether those responsible are being severely punished according to the law.

This underscores the urgent need for science-informed climate action, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon region, where uncontrolled deforestation and burning prevail. Unfortunately, the local population lacks timely and accurate information about the primary sources contributing to these issues. 

As mentioned above, in October 2023, Manaus city, faced an unprecedented heatwave and dangerous air quality due to widespread regional fires. This escalating problem in the Amazon region is exacerbated by the absence of precise data on the locations of key burning epicenters. 

This study has four phases to reach the following goals: 
Goal 1: to identify and share information on high-intensity fire zones within a 300km radius of Manaus during August to October 2023, the peak of the Amazon summer;
Goal 2: to offer recommendations to policymakers and decision-makers.

Phase 1: 1.1 Formulation of the problem; 1.2 Definition of the main goals

Phase 2: Literature Review
2.1. Planet's boundaries and tipping point; 2.2. Climate Change and CO2 Emissions;
2.3. Brazil's CO2 Emissions; 2.4. Amazon Deforestation and Burning; 2.5. Climate Change effects in Amazon: floods, droughts, heat, and smoke; 2.6. How to classify Fire Intensity based on Fire Radiative Potency (FRP) (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Phase 3: 3.1 Collection of Data; 3.2 Analysis of Data 

Phase 4: 4.1 Publish articles in newspaper-Portuguese; 4.2 Translate articles to English; 4.3 Create the Dataset; 4.4 Create and update the Digital Platform; 4.5 Share information to society; 4.6 Evaluate readers feedback

It was colleced and analyzed nearly 70,000 active fires and thermal anomalies records from NASA FIRMS satellites (12) using geospatial techniques (13, 14, 15), Google´s Maps or Earth Engine tools (16,17,18), and GPS coordinate services &lt;https://www.gps-coordinates.net/distance&gt;.
 
It is crucial to identify and transparently communicate the most active burning areas during this severe heatwave and air pollution event, particularly when conveyed in a language accessible to the general public.
 
This involves weekly publication of information in the Jornal do Comércio do Amazonas (in Portuguese) and translating and sharing it in English on digital platforms such as Personal webpage, LinkedIn, Facebook and Harvard Dataverse.

Moreover, this information can guide policymakers and decision-makers in directing fire prevention and control resources to the most vulnerable regions in the upcoming years.