Wildfires in Brazil burned an area larger than Italy in 2024, a 79% increase from 2023, mainly due to farmers illegally expanding land. The Amazon, a global biodiversity hotspot, was severely affected, with fires damaging more forest than grassland for the first time. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces challenges in controlling these fires ahead of the UN COP30 conference. Despite efforts to preserve the Amazon, fires reached a 17-year high amid ongoing drought, raising concerns about the rainforest becoming a carbon emitter instead of a carbon sink.