Into the Amazon

The first time I visited Lucas do Rio Verde in Mato Grosso was in May 2025.

On my first day there, I decided to head over to Bruce Rastetter's ethanol refinery, FS, Fueling Sustainability, to take some photos.

The day had been a bit cloudy, but it was hot, over 30 degrees Celsius.

After lunch, a cold wind started blowing.

At 3:00 in the afternoon when I was outside the refinery, the sky suddenly darkened.

The wind started whipping up sand, and everything turned reddish.

I managed to film a few seconds of the scene before rushing into my car.

The wind was shaking the imperial palm trees violently, and I was afraid one of them might fall on me.

On my drive back to the hotel, I saw palm branches scattered across the road, a fallen utility pole, and a torn billboard.

Then the rain came, and the temperature dropped to about 15 degrees.

I kept wondering if that had been an extreme event or if this happened all the time.

When I arrived here, it rained for six months and was sunny for six months.

Damazilia Santos is an organic farmer who has lived in the region for 22 years.

She says that everything is now hotter and more stifling, and she has a hunch as to why.

We no longer have that tall, dense vegetation.

That's where it cools down.

That's where the breeze comes through.

Now, it's just fields.

Just fields.

Clearing more and more, clearing more and more, clearing more and more.

Planting, just planting.

That's what happens.

This is also reflected in the data.

When a cold front advances, it displaces the hot, dry air over the region, also generating very strong wind gusts.

With the large area of dry, loose soil, dust is kicked up and creates sandstorms.