MapBiomas Finds Pantanal in Most Severe 40-Year Drought, With 2024 the Driest Year

Overview

• New MapBiomas analyses of 1985–2024 show a 75% drop in areas that remain flooded annually, from about 1.6 million hectares to roughly 460,000 hectares.
• 2024 registered the lowest inundation in the series, with only 365,678 hectares of surface water and levels 61% below the historical average.
• The Pantanal had no flood season in 2024 as the Paraguay River peaked at 1.50 meters, far below the 4-meter overflow threshold.
• Prolonged dryness coincided with about 2.2 million hectares burned in 2024, the third-largest burned area since records began in 1985.
• MapBiomas links the trend to land-use change in the basin, where agriculture and pasture expanded from 21% to 40% since 1985, converting an estimated 7.5 million hectares of native cover.