Amazon fire smoke chokes Manaus as arrests are made for setting fires
From 1 to 19 October there were 1,921 hotspots in Amazonas, up 202% on 2025. Authorities have arrested 11 people and opened 120 cases over deliberately set fires.
Manaus, the Brazilian Amazon’s big city, has spent much of October wrapped in smoke. The cause: a wave of fires fuelled by drought and, according to the authorities, by people starting fires deliberately.
The numbers
According to Brazil’s space research institute, INPE:
- From 1 to 19 October there were 1,921 fire hotspots in Amazonas state, up 202% on the same period in 2025.
- 30% were in the Manaus metropolitan area, mostly in Autazes and Itacoatiara.
- Between 20 and 25 October hotspots fell to 214, a drop credited to tougher enforcement.
On 8 October, average fine particle (PM2.5) levels hit 99 µg/m³, about six times the WHO guideline, and on 17 October they reached 30 times. Schools and universities suspended classes.
Drought and arson
Manaus got 95% less rain than normal in August and 60% less in September, according to NASA, due to the strong El Niño. With the forest bone-dry, any burning to clear pasture can spiral out of control.
Authorities are investigating deliberate fires:
- On 10 October, Amazonas declared an emergency in 36 municipalities.
- Drones filmed two men apparently setting fires near homes in Iranduba.
- On 17 October, 11 people were arrested in Autazes, and 120 cases had been opened.
“Because it always rained in October!” recalls Otacílio Farias, a 75-year-old farmer, on how fires used to be easy to control.
For many residents, the smoke has become routine. Environmental crimes like these are the target of the new protocol the UN will negotiate.
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