The total was up more than 61% compared with the same period last year – an increase that experts say was the result of a historic drought that struck the world's largest tropical rainforest last year. The year with the most wildfires between January and June was 2004, which saw 17,340 wildfires.

A forest fire in Roraima, Brazil. (Photo: Reuters/VNA)

Wildfires set January-June records in two other biodiverse ecosystems south of the Amazon: the Pantanal, one of the world's largest tropical wetlands, and the Cerrado savanna, which lies mainly in Brazil.

In the Pantanal, home to millions of caimans, parrots, giant otters, and the world's highest density of jaguars, 3,538 wildfires were recorded in the first six months of 2024 – up more than 2,000% from last year and up 40% from 2020, the record-setting year in that region.

The Cerrado – one of the world's three great savannas – experienced more than 13,000 fires from January through June, almost as many as the Amazon. The Cerrado covers a region the size of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain combined. Brazilian President Lula da Silva is promoting a security plan called AMAS, with a budget of more than 58 million USD, to prevent the destruction of the Amazon forest.

"We need to act quickly. Before, we didn't have a plan, but now we have a plan. Before, we didn't have money, but now we have money. We now have a plan, money, and quality personnel to implement the plan, so we cannot delay any longer," said Brazilian President Lula da Silva. 

Severe wildfires are also occurring in many other regions of the world, such as the Arctic Circle and several southern European countries. In Greece, there have been 10 large-scale forest fires burning for many days, including a fire in a mountainous area just 20 kilometers from Athens, which forced the government to evacuate hundreds of tourists from nearby towns.