Climate bulletin and fire risks indicate critical situation in Tocantins

This week's edition of the Climate and Fire Risk Bulletin for the State of Tocantins reveals that, with no recorded precipitation, the fire risk map shows a critical situation for the entire state. Meteorological conditions indicate high temperatures and low relative humidity: 28,2ºC and 47% in the northern region, 31,1ºC and 32% in the central region, and 26,7ºC and 45% in the southern region.

Regarding fires, Tocantins has already registered 13.448 fires in the period from September 10 to 16. This represents a 35% reduction in the increase in fire outbreaks compared to the previous week, from September 3 to 9. Among the most affected municipalities are Lagoa da Confusão, Pium and Formoso do Araguaia, which lead the ranking of fires.

Water monitoring also shows a sharp drop in river levels, a common feature during droughts. The Aurora do Tocantins station on the Palma River, for example, recorded a level of 2,43 meters, showing a recovery compared to last year and 2022, but still lower than historical levels.

The Water Bulletin shows that over the last three years, 2024 will be the year with the lowest level of rivers monitored by SEMARH, reinforcing that the water crisis in the state is the most serious in recent years.

In the drought maps, new to this edition of the bulletin, the severity of the drought in the state has been worsening over the last three years. Whereas the severe drought that was not identified in the month of August in previous years, in 2024 showed a great advance in the central, southern and western regions of the state.

The bulletin is prepared with data from the Center for Geographic Intelligence in Environmental Management (Cigma) of the State Secretariat for the Environment and Water Resources (Semarh).