The frequency of extreme events in Acre was highlighted last October by Ufac researchers – ac24horas.com

The occurrence of major floods in Acre for two years in a row, as occurred in 2023 and 2024, is in line with what a study developed by Acre researchers from the Federal University of Acre (Ufac) in partnership with the State University of Ceará (Ufac) shows ( Uece), National Amazon Research Institute (Inpa) and the American research center Woodwell Climate.

Published in the magazine “Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation”, when a historic drought hit a large part of the Amazon, the article “Climate Extremes in the Amazon: Increase in Droughts and Floods in the Brazilian State of Acre”, the study says that the intensification of extreme weather events is already a reality around the world and that the state of Acre has been experiencing occurrences of this type since 1987.

Remember here: Acre recorded 254 extreme weather events between 1987 and 2023, study shows.

In the study, researchers quantified the frequency of floods, droughts, water crises and forest fires in Acre, identifying their causes and impacts. On average, between 1987 and 2023, six municipalities in Acre were affected each year by water crises, fires or floods. Still according to the research, 2010 is the turning point for this “new standard”.

Extreme events in Acre are concentrated in the most populated regions. During the period analyzed, all municipalities in Acre recorded at least three extreme events. However, the municipalities of Rio Branco and Cruzeiro do Sul recorded 17 to 26 extreme events, corresponding to one event every two years.

Co-author of the study, researcher Sonaira Silva, from the Campus Floresta da Ufac, in Cruzeiro do Sul, says that until 2004 records showed the occurrence of one extreme event per year in the municipalities of Acre, on average. After 2010, two or more events were frequently identified in the same year and in the same municipality. “We are having a collapse of several events at the same time, with several large-scale damages,” she said.

In conclusions, the study says that Acre may be among the most critical Brazilian states impacted by extreme weather events and that the records documented in the work serve as a warning for the Amazon as a whole, and more studies like this should be carried out for all states in the region and Brazil.

The data show the urgency of implementing adaptation actions to climate extremes and that adaptation and mitigation processes must be considered not only in the municipalities of Rio Branco and Cruzeiro do Sul, but throughout the state of Acre, especially in municipalities with greater vulnerability social and economic.

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