Brazil’s Vanishing Green Lands Heighten El Nino Risks
Brazil has lost a huge amount of its natural land in four decades. This area is more than twice the size of France. A new study shows this makes Brazil more vulnerable to extreme weather. The El Nino weather pattern is making these events worse. Different parts of Brazil are now ready for droughts, floods, and fires.
The environmental group MapBiomas released its yearly study. It found that Brazil’s native vegetation has shrunk greatly. Forty years ago, green lands covered 79 percent of Brazil. Today, they cover only 65 percent of the country.
The biggest losses happened in the Amazon rainforest and the biodiverse Cerrado savanna. Much of this land was changed for farming or raising animals. Agriculture and livestock now cover 32 percent of Brazil’s territory, up from 18 percent in 1985.
MapBiomas analyzed how these land changes affect weather. Areas converted to farms were more vulnerable to bad weather. This was clear during strong El Nino events, like those expected this year.
Mr. Tasso Azevedo is the main coordinator for MapBiomas. He explained that deforested areas of the Amazon got less rain during the 2023-2024 El Nino. However, farming areas in southern grasslands saw too much rain.
For example, the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul suffered big floods in 2024. These floods killed about 200 people. Mr. Azevedo said land-use patterns do not change El Nino itself. But they can change how El Nino affects the land.
He added that human choices about land impact how vulnerable Brazil is. They also determine how strong climate events will be. One idea is that removing forests reduces local air moisture. This leads to hotter temperatures and less rain, which El Nino then makes worse.
Last month, Brazil’s government warned about a “very strong El Nino” this year. Sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are expected to be two degrees higher than normal. This warming can change weather patterns around the world. The Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock also warned of a “super El Nino.” It could harm important crops like coffee, soy, and sugar.
