Drought-fueled Amazon wildfires surge as monitoring overlooks hidden blazes

The short version

• ScienceDaily reports satellites detected a sharp increase in fires and smoke across the central and eastern Amazon beginning in September 2026.[ScienceDaily]
• Thick smoke engulfed Manaus, where city officials reported fine particulate levels above 135 micrograms per cubic meter, and according to news reports, schools closed and events were canceled.[ScienceDaily]
• NASA Goddard's Douglas Morton links the blazes to an El Niño-driven cascade of tropical fires, with many larger fires starting as deliberate land-management burns that severe drought turned uncontrolled.[ScienceDaily]
• Shane Coffield estimates roughly 50 to 70 uncontrolled fires are burning near Santarém, and his initial findings suggest about 40 percent more fires than FIRMS active counts show; these findings remain preliminary.[ScienceDaily]

Key facts

• Satellite observations detected a sharp increase in fires and smoke across the central and eastern Amazon beginning in September 2026.[ScienceDaily]
• Fire and smoke activity was detected by NASA FIRMS, the Global Fire Emissions Database, and NASA Worldview.[ScienceDaily]
• City officials in Manaus reported fine particulate matter above 135 micrograms per cubic meter, placing air quality in the second-worst regional category.[ScienceDaily]
• Brazil's National Institute of Meteorology reported rainfall in Manaus was 95 percent below normal in August and 60 percent below normal in September.[ScienceDaily]
• Around Santarém, researchers identified about 40 percent more fires than appear in FIRMS active fire counts.[ScienceDaily]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• NASA discovers hidden fires burning beneath the Amazon rainforestScienceDaily - Environment