Boa Vista dawned on new “clouds” of smoke this Tuesday morning (2) and the air quality in the city was above the limit considered terrible for the population’s health. The problem is the result of forest fires that have hit Roraima since the beginning of this year.
According to the Selva Platform, from the State University of Amazonas (UEA), which monitors fires and the air quality index in the Amazon region in real time, the capital reached 317.6 µg/m3 at 8:22 am. The scale, however, goes from 0 to 160 µg/m3, which indicates that the city is above the limit.
The index is 20 times the maximum level of 15 micrograms of air pollution particles (PM 2.5) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and causes serious impacts on health, especially on the lungs.
This Tuesday, the smoke became even denser and made breathing difficult, in addition to impairing visibility on streets and avenues in the capital. It spread at least through the neighborhoods of Alvorada, Santa Tereza, Jardim Floresta, São Francisco, Caranã, Pintolândia, Senador Hélio Campos, Cidade Satélite and the Center.
The smoke registered in the city is brought by forest fires that occur in the state itself and in areas of Guyana, a country on the northern border of the state. According to data from the Queimadas Program of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the state registered 4,093 hot spots from January 1st until this Monday (1st).
According to the researcher at the National Institute for Amazonian Research, Reinaldo Imbrózio, Boa Vista is located between two fronts of air currents: the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ZCIT) and the trade winds that move from the Northeast towards the Southeast. The action is an arrow that leaves the Caribbean Sea and reaches the city, which receives toxic gases and particulate matter.
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