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BR · Brazil · –

Altamira fire, 29 August 2024 São Félix do Xingu, Altamira

Out · last detection 23 Sept 2024, 17:16 UTC

The fire started on 29 August 2024 in Altamira, Brazil, and satellites saw it burning for 27 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 15,787 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.

It is the 111th largest in Pará since 2016 (of 957 with a page). Number 189 in Brazil in 2024, of 1301.

Burnt area
15,787ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
27days
29 Aug 2024 – 24 Sept 2024
Municipalities hit
2
municipalities
Started on
29 Aug
2024
Heat detections
1,040
in a single hotspot: 160 MW
Danger at start
39
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
486MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 29 Aug24 Sept
23 Sept 2024

How it evolved, day by day

29 Aug 2024 · 10 MW · 1 31 Aug 2024 · 11 MW · 2 1 Sept 2024 · 55 MW · 6 2 Sept 2024 · 205 MW · 13 3 Sept 2024 · 284 MW · 13 4 Sept 2024 · 322 MW · 20 5 Sept 2024 · 2,236 MW · 73 6 Sept 2024 · 641 MW · 120 7 Sept 2024 · 683 MW · 68 8 Sept 2024 · 572 MW · 23 9 Sept 2024 · 433 MW · 29 10 Sept 2024 · 985 MW · 42 11 Sept 2024 · 1,024 MW · 122 12 Sept 2024 · 621 MW · 97 13 Sept 2024 · 989 MW · 73 14 Sept 2024 · 627 MW · 54 15 Sept 2024 · 212 MW · 33 16 Sept 2024 · 494 MW · 65 17 Sept 2024 · 893 MW · 53 18 Sept 2024 · 365 MW · 56 19 Sept 2024 · 180 MW · 22 20 Sept 2024 · 227 MW · 29 21 Sept 2024 · 38 MW · 9 22 Sept 2024 · 45 MW · 15 23 Sept 2024 · 6 MW · 2
29 Aug 5 Sept 9 Sept 14 Sept 19 Sept

Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.

The weather it burned in

37°high
38km/h · peak gust
24%lowest humidity

It had gone 14 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.0 mm on 25 Sept.

This area had burned before

95% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 6,431 ha in 2017, 1,396 ha in 2018, 3,166 ha in 2019, 11,314 ha in 2020, 4,116 ha in 2021, 5,521 ha in 2022, 7,792 ha in 2023. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 14,920 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 10% of the area of London (158 km² against 1,583 km²).

London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).

This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.

What happened to each town

  1. São Félix do Xingu 65,418 inhabitants
    8,799 ha reached on 31 Aug
    0.1 %
  2. Altamira 126,279 inhabitants where it started
    7,284 ha reached on 29 Aug
    0.0 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance runs from the point marking the centre of each area to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2025
Built-up area0.55 ha
Residents≈ 60

Inside the perimeter there were about 0.55 hectares of built-up land and about 60 residents (GHSL 2025, satellite-based estimate).

This is an estimate on 100 m cells, made from satellite imagery and census data: it does not mean that homes burned or that anyone was harmed. The perimeter also contains land that never burned. The GHSL 2025 epoch is a projection made from 2020 and earlier data.

Source: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP R2023A), European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), © European Union, CC BY 4.0. Sum inside the perimeter computed by WorldFires. human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu

The weather day by day

ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, the standard reference for past weather, and the Canadian Fire Weather Index (the same system Copernicus uses), computed by WorldFires from that data. Days after the fire run until the first rain.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
29 Aug 34.6 °C 30 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
30 Aug 35.0 °C 28 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
31 Aug 35.8 °C 28 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
1 Sept 35.8 °C 25 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
2 Sept 36.3 °C 25 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
3 Sept 35.7 °C 27 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
4 Sept 36.4 °C 26 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
5 Sept 37.1 °C 24 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
6 Sept 35.7 °C 28 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
7 Sept 37.0 °C 24 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
8 Sept 35.3 °C 33 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
9 Sept 34.6 °C 36 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
10 Sept 35.9 °C 29 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
11 Sept 35.3 °C 34 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
12 Sept 36.4 °C 30 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
13 Sept 34.5 °C 37 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
14 Sept 34.9 °C 34 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
15 Sept 36.4 °C 28 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
16 Sept 35.5 °C 32 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
17 Sept 36.6 °C 28 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
18 Sept 35.9 °C 34 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
19 Sept 34.5 °C 37 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
20 Sept 35.2 °C 33 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
21 Sept 35.8 °C 35 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
22 Sept 35.7 °C 34 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
23 Sept 36.5 °C 32 % 32 km/h 0.3 mm High 35
24 Sept 34.5 °C 41 % 27 km/h 0.9 mm High 32
25 Sept after 35.3 °C 40 % 29 km/h 1.0 mm High 24

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 39.0, a minimum humidity of 30% and 14 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 28.

FWI at the start 39.0
Minimum humidity 30 %
Days without rain 14
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

Altamira fire, July 2019
5,855 ha 6 days FWI 36.1 Min. humidity 30 % 12 km away, in 2019

First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.

What happened to them

16 days
median duration
4,068 ha
median area
4 %
went past 10,000 ha
3.2 mm
rain at the end (median; 13 of 28 had it)

It was 3.9 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 27 days, against 16 days.

Only 1 of its 28 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 15 of 28, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 3.2 mm.

This is a bank of analogues: it shows what usually happens, not what will happen. With fewer than 15 twins we give no figures. How we calculate it

How it ended

1.0 mmfirst rain
25 Septthe day after it ended
38km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 24 Sept, and on 25 Sept 1.0 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 13 of 28, with a median of 3.2 mm.

Weather on this page: Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

How a twin is chosen

  • Same area: fires that have already ended, less than 250 km from this one, since 2016.
  • Same start: we compare the FWI on the first day, the minimum humidity that day and the run of days without rain before it. The slider sets how much they may differ.
  • Only pages with final weather data (ERA5 reanalysis) calculated in the same way as this fire’s; agricultural and grass burns and pages with data under review are left out.
  • Fires burning at the same time as this one (a week before or after) are left out: they share the same spell of weather and do not count as a precedent.
  • They are sorted by similarity, and the outlines of the first five are drawn.

How we calculate it

Before and after, from space

Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.

Before · 22 Aug 2024
After · 1 Oct 2024

If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.

The smoke

CAMS · Copernicus

On 13 September 2024 the air beside the fire reached 133 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 82: 5.5 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak133 µg/m³
Days over the guideline27 days
PM10190 µg/m³
Optical depth2.05
30 Aug5 Sept11 Sept17 Sept23 Sept
Good Fair Moderate Poor Very poor Extremely poor

Particles from the Copernicus CAMS model at the centre of the perimeter; these are not measurements in each town. The pale bar is the worst hour, the solid one the daily average.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)

Detections table · 1,040Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
⬇ Download CSV Times in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and timeSatelliteFRP (MW)LatLon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Brazil

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Altamira fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 29 August 2024 to 24 September 2024 (27 days). The perimeter dates it from 1 September 2024 to 22 September 2024.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 15,787 hectares (157.9 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: São Félix do Xingu (8,799 ha, 0.1 %); Altamira (7,284 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 37.1 °C, humidity dropped to 24 % and gusts hit 38 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 48, class Very high.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Brazil (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.
How did the fires that started in similar weather in this area end?
Fires less than 250 km away that started since 2016 with a similar FWI, humidity and dry spell: 28. Their median duration was 16 days and their median area 4,068 ha; 4 % went past 10,000 ha. Only 1 of its 28 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 15 of 28, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 3.2 mm.

Where to verify it

A satellite detection is not an official report. Final figures and the fire’s status are published by each country’s emergency service.

Emergency number: 193 · Emergency number and official warnings

Satellite cross-check

History of this page · 6 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Last day with fire: 22 September 2024 → 24 September 2024.
  2. Start date: 1 September 2024 → 29 August 2024.
  3. Last day with fire: 24 September 2024 → 22 September 2024.
  4. Start date: 29 August 2024 → 1 September 2024.
  5. Last day with fire: 22 September 2024 → 24 September 2024.
  6. Start date: 1 September 2024 → 29 August 2024.

RSS Changes to this page With cross-checks and a citable version

Does something look wrong on this page?

This page is built from satellite data and official records, and it sometimes gets things wrong: the wrong dates, the wrong town, two fires merged into one, or something that was not a wildfire at all. If you know this fire first-hand (you live nearby, saw it, fought it or reported on it), tell us what really happened and we will check it.

Report an error
What do you think is wrong?

We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy. This is not an emergency service: if there is a fire now, call 193.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 2 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 1 September 2024 to 22 September 2024. 1,040 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • We have not matched this page with any official record.
  • Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
  • Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2025, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.

How we build fire pages: methodology

Where this data comes from

The perimeter comes from the Copernicus Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), which rebuilds it from MODIS and VIIRS heat detections and publishes it under CC BY 4.0. It is not measured on imagery as in Europe, so it is an estimate. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Municipal boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM2 (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ from each country’s official figure.