In 2012, the Brazilian government implemented the Federal Brigades Program (FBP), a fire policy strategy to hire and train firefighters to combat wildfires. This study analyzed the impact of this program on fire behavior before (2008–2012) and after (2013–2017) its implementation in the Parque do Araguaia Indigenous Land, the largest indigenous territory with the highest occurrence of fires in the Brazilian tropical savanna. We analyzed the annual pattern of fire incidence in the dry season, the fire impact per vegetation type, the recurrence, and the relationship between fire and precipitation. The datasets were based on active fire products derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Landsat and Resourcesat-based burned area products, and the records of the fire combat operations. Our results showed that FBP contributed to the reduction of the number of areas affected by fires and to the formation of a more heterogeneous environment composed of fire-resistant and fire-sensitive native vegetation fragments. On the other hand, after the implementation of the FBP, there was an increase in the recurrence of 3–4 years of fires. We concluded that the FBP is an important public policy capable of providing improvements in fire management activities.

No Brasil as queimadas são caracterizadas por extensas linhas de fogo de rápida propagação que causam a mortalidade de espécies da flora e da fauna. Para mitigar estes danos, políticas públicas foram implementadas. Para correto funcionamento delas, entretanto, é necessário compreender a variabilidade do fogo e os elementos que o afetam para aperfeiçoar as estratégias de prevenção e combate. Neste sentido, este trabalho teve como escopo analisar a dinâmica das queimadas no Brasil, nos anos de 2003 a 2018, através da climatologia de precipitação e dos acumulados e das anomalias de focos de queima de vegetação. Os resultados demonstraram que há três padrões espaciais de queimadas no Brasil que se relacionam com dois sistemas de precipitação: a Zona de Convergência Intertropical e a Zona de Convergência do Atlântico Sul. Na maioria dos estados foi detectada uma tendência de redução de uso do fogo. Para outros, uma estabilização das taxas de detecção. Apesar destes resultados, as detecções ainda têm maior ocorrência na estiagem, quando tendem a contribuir significativamente para a degradação ambiental e para o dispêndio do orçamento público em operações de combate. Cabe aos entes federativos investirem em atividades de fiscalização, de monitoramento, de educação ambiental e de manejo preventivo para reduzi-las.Space-Time Dynamics of the Burns in Brazil in the Period 2003 to 2018 A B S T R A C TIn Brazil, vegetation fires are characterized by extensive and rapidly spreading fire lines that cause the mortality of flora and fauna species. Public policies were implemented to mitigate these damages, and for their correct enforcement it is necessary to understand the variability of the fire regime and the elements that affect it to improve prevention and combat strategies. In this sense, this work aimed to analyze the dynamics of burning in Brazil from 2003 to 2018 through the accumulated number of active fires and their anomalies as detected in satellite images with the precipitation climatology. The results showed that there are three spatial burning patterns in Brazil that relate with two precipitation systems: the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the South Atlantic Convergence Zone. A tendency to reduce the use of the fire was detected in most states; some indicated a stabilization of detection rates. The detections are still more frequent in drought periods, when the fires tend to contribute significantly to environmental degradation and to public budget expenditure in combat operations. It is up to the federal and state governments to invest in activities of enforcement, monitoring, environmental education and preventive management to reduce the use of fire in the country.Keywords: Variability of fire, climatology precipitation, public policies, active fire.

Several studies have been developed to identify the relation between meteorological variables and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Although there are studies that investigate this relation in Brazil, the period of analysis was short and the influence of political decisions about the number of records was not considered. In view of the above, this study investigated the correlation of meteorological parameters with the spread of COVID-19, as well as the impact of government actions to contain the spread of the disease. Four Brazilian cities with different climate types were chosen as study areas - Manaus, Brasília, São Paulo and Porto Alegre. The results did not identify a strong relation between the spread of COVID-19 in Brazil and the meteorological variation in temperature, relative humidity, wind and rain. It is understood that government actions that encourage social distancing and mass vaccination should be used as priority public policies to reduce the transmissibility of the new coronavirus in Brazil.