After Years of Droughts and Fires, the Pantanal Fills Up Again - at Least for Now

The Paiaguás region in Mato Grosso do Sul, the largest area of the Pantanal, is now covered by water after years of droughts and major wildfires. Some areas can be reached only by boat or aircraft.

"It had been a long time since it was in these conditions," said Ângelo Rabelo, director of the Instituto Homem Pantaneiro. "It brings a beauty. It's like a natural aquarium."

The years 2023 and 2024 recorded record numbers of wildfire hotspots in the biome. In 2025, however, conditions were considerably milder. Despite the current scenario, concerns remain: an environmental emergency due to wildfire risk was declared in February and remains in effect in some regions until December.

In March, the NGO SOS Pantanal warned that rainfall during the wet season was below expectations in the headwaters of the biome, indicating a likely severe drought and a greater risk of fires in 2026.

According to data from the Geological Survey of Brazil, the Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sul may go through its eighth consecutive year without a major flood. The last one occurred in 2018.

The likely arrival of El Niño adds another risk factor. The phenomenon tends to increase temperatures and reduce rainfall in parts of the states that encompass the Pantanal.

Supreme Federal Court Justice Flávio Dino ordered the federal government and state authorities to present preparedness plans in response to the growing wildfire risk.

The Pantanal is the Brazilian biome that has lost the most water surface area: by 2024 it had lost 61% compared with its historical average, according to the MapBiomas monitoring system.

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