In photos: World's biggest wetland Pantanal engulfed by flames

Sebastiao Junior attempts to put out a fire on a ranch in the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland, in Pocone, Brazil.

Between January and Sunday, 14,489 sources of fire were registered, compared to 4,699 in the same timeframe last year. Fires have already destroyed 10% of Pantanal this year. The Pantanal stretches from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul across Mato Grosso and into the neighboring countries of Bolivia and Paraguay.

Birds fly past as a fire consumes an area next to the Transpantaneira road at the Pantanal wetlands.

In Brazil's Pantanal, the vegetation compacted under the marshy floodwater during the wet season dries out as ponds and lagoons evaporate, leaving flammable deposits underground that can continue to smolder long after visible flames die down. Like in the Amazon region, the Pantanal is also threatened by land grabbing for cattle pastures and soy cultivation.

A veterinary student and a local guide inspect a dead snake in an area that was burnt in a fire in the Pantanal, August 31, 2020.

An aerial view shows horses and cattle standing amongst smoke from fires nearby in the Pantanal, August 28, 2020.

A jaguar rubs itself against vegetation as it walks through smoke from a fire nearby, in Encontro das Aguas State Park in the Pantanal, September 3, 2020.

A jaguar crouches on an area recently scorched by wildfires at the Encontro das Aguas park in the Pantanal wetlands, Sept. 13, 2020.

Dorvalino Conceicao Camargo tries to put out a fire on a ranch near where he works in the Pantanal, August 28, 2020.

Farm employees stand in front of a burning fire at a ranch in the Pantanal, August 26, 2020.

Firefighters from the State of Mato Grosso fill their truck with water as they prepare to extinguish a fire in front of a smoke funnel, on a farm in the Pantanal, August 28, 2020.

Smoke from a fire rises into the air as trees burn amongst vegetation in the Pantanal, September 3, 2020.

A cow stands amongst an area that was burnt in a fire at a ranch in the Pantanal, August 27, 2020.

A jaburu bird with a broken wing is treated by a veterinarian and a veterinary student volunteer, at a temporary clinic set up to rescue and treat wildlife in the Pantanal, September 4, 2020.

A giant otter eats a fish as it swims in the Cuiaba River, amongst smoke from a fire, inside Encontro das Aguas State Park, in the Pantanal, September 3, 2020.

A tree that was partially burnt in a fire stands amongst burnt vegetation, in the Pantanal, September 2, 2020.

Carlos Augusto Rodrigues, 35, gives Rafael Silva, 16, a bottle filled with water to help put out a fire on a ranch in the Pantanal, August 28, 2020.

An aerial view shows smoke rising into the air around the Cuiaba river in the Pantanal, August 28, 2020.

An aerial view shows burnt trees and vegetation in the Pantanal, August 28, 2020.

A dead caiman is pictured in an area that was burnt in a fire in the Pantanal, August 31, 2020.

Fire consumes an area next to the Transpantaneira road in the Pantanal wetlands, Sept. 11, 2020.

An aerial view shows burnt trees and vegetation in the Pantanal, August 28, 2020.

A volunteer tries to douse a fire on the Transpantaneira road in the Pantanal wetlands, Sept. 11, 2020.

An alligator sits in a field of green as a fire consumes an area next to the Transpantaneira road at the Pantanal wetlands near Pocone, Sept. 11, 2020.

Men fish in the Cuiaba river amid smoke from fires at the Encontro das Aguas park at the Pantanal wetlands near Pocone, Sept. 13, 2020.