President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meets with State ministers this Monday morning (16) to discuss climate emergencies and the forest fires affecting around 60% of the country. This Sunday (15), Lula and the first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, flew over the Brasília National Park, hit by a major fire.
In a post on social media, the president reported that the federal government is working together with the Federal District Fire Department to help fight the flames and announced a meeting with the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva.
“The PF [Polícia Federal] There are currently 52 open investigations against those responsible for these crimes. The Ministry of Health has given guidance on how to protect ourselves from smoke, and tomorrow [segunda-feira] I will meet with Minister Marina Silva and the government core to discuss further actions to deal with this climate emergency,” wrote Lula.
Lula regularly meets with the ministers responsible for political articulation and with the government leaders in Parliament on Mondays to discuss the agenda in the National Congress. On Monday, Minister Marina Silva will also be among the participants and the burning issue is expected to be the dominant theme of the meeting.
Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Ministers of Justice and Public Security Ricardo Lewandowski and the Attorney General’s Office Jorge Messias, representatives of Ibama and ICMBio and the Executive Secretary of Health Swedenberger Barbosa will also participate in the meeting.
Human action
The Federal Police indicate that there are indications that part of the forest fires in the country may have occurred through coordinated actionswith the spread of simultaneous fires. The hypothesis of human action in part of the fires that are ravaging the country has also been raised by the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Flávio Dino, who determined measures to combat fires in the Amazon and Pantanal.
Flávio Dino also authorized the Union to issue extraordinary credits outside the fiscal limits for fighting the flames. With this measure, by the end of the year the federal government will have a climate emergency budget available to deal with forest fires and will be able to send a provisional measure to the National Congress with only the amount of credit to be allocated for this purpose.
The use of fire for agricultural practices In the Pantanal and most of the Amazon it is prohibited and is a crime, punishable by 2 to 4 years in prison.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, associated with this practice and other coordinated criminal actions, forest fires in Brazil and other South American countries are intensified by climate change, which causes prolonged droughts in biomes such as the Pantanal and the Amazon. This year, 58% of the national territory was affected by drought. In about a third of the country, the scenario is one of severe drought.
In a statement on Saturday (14), the minister Marina Silva stated that Brazil is experiencing climate terrorismwith people using high temperatures and low humidity to start fires, harming people’s health, biodiversity and destroying forests.
Public health
In addition to the consequences for the environment, the large volume of fires in the country has put pressure on the health system and is a cause for concern, especially when it involves the elderly and children with respiratory problems. Because of the fires, cities in different parts of the country were hit by clouds of smokewhich harms air quality.
To the guidelines for the population In these regions, it is recommended to avoid exposure to the open air and physical activity as much as possible, avoid staying close to fires and increase water intake. It is recommended to seek medical attention in case of nausea, vomiting, fever, shortness of breath, dizziness, mental confusion or severe headaches, chest or abdominal pain.
The National Force of the Unified Health System (SUS) will expand operations in states and municipalities affected by fires.Starting this Monday, team visits will be carried out in the states of Acre, Amazonas and Rondônia. The mobilization is a demand from the Ministry of Health and aims to assess the situation and support state and municipal managers.
