SmogRank / Episodes / Brazil

Minas Gerais, Brazil, October 2024

For 1 day, on 9 October 2024, 8 cities in Brazil had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil: 53.9 µg/m³ on 9 October, about 4.6× its usual 11.7. Ended 9 October.

No cause namedWe have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached8in 1 country
Days19 October 2024
Worst day9 October8 cities counted
Furthest above usual6.0×Ibirité

Day by day

9 October 8 cities at twice their usual or more
Barra LongaTimóteoIpatingaVitóriaSerraVila VelhaCoronel FabricianoItabiraCongonhasNova UniãoConceição do Mato DentroBelo HorizonteBetimIbirité

No fire and smoke map for this day.

6 Oct789101112
Every measured city in the area, coloured by its PM2.5 that day; a dark ring marks a city at twice its usual or more. Bars: cities counted each day, coloured by their median level. Choose a day or press play; without JavaScript, the days link to that day's world ranking.
  • Fires, seenHeat NASA satellites detected that day; bigger and glowing means more detections in the area. Farm burning and other fires count too, not only wildfires.

Under the cities, for each UTC day: fires NASA satellites detected, smoke NOAA analysts traced and volcanic ash warnings for aircraft. They show what was in the air, not that it caused the readings. Mapped for 4 of the 7 days shown.

Fires: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Traced smoke: NOAA Hazard Mapping System. Volcanic ash: aviation ash warnings (SIGMETs) via NOAA's Aviation Weather Center.

How it spread

Belo HorizonteBelo Horizonte, 6 October: 18.5 µg/m³Belo Horizonte, 7 October: 27.8 µg/m³Belo Horizonte, 8 October: 22.7 µg/m³Belo Horizonte, 9 October: 53.9 µg/m³, 4.6× its usual 11.7Belo Horizonte, 10 October: 15.6 µg/m³Belo Horizonte, 11 October: 2.6 µg/m³Belo Horizonte, 12 October: 9.6 µg/m³IbiritéIbirité, 6 October: 19.7 µg/m³Ibirité, 7 October: 31.5 µg/m³Ibirité, 8 October: no readingIbirité, 9 October: 51.9 µg/m³, 6.0× its usual 8.6Ibirité, 10 October: 13.7 µg/m³Ibirité, 11 October: 2.3 µg/m³Ibirité, 12 October: 3.2 µg/m³BetimBetim, 6 October: 13.9 µg/m³Betim, 7 October: 28.5 µg/m³Betim, 8 October: 17.8 µg/m³Betim, 9 October: 51.3 µg/m³, 5.4× its usual 9.5Betim, 10 October: 9.7 µg/m³Betim, 11 October: 3.3 µg/m³Betim, 12 October: 8.0 µg/m³Nova UniãoNova União, 6 October: 15.4 µg/m³Nova União, 7 October: 21.7 µg/m³Nova União, 8 October: 16.6 µg/m³Nova União, 9 October: 43.9 µg/m³, 3.1× its usual 14.3Nova União, 10 October: 13.8 µg/m³Nova União, 11 October: 11.3 µg/m³Nova União, 12 October: 12.0 µg/m³Conceição do Mato D…Conceição do Mato Dentro, 6 October: 17.1 µg/m³Conceição do Mato Dentro, 7 October: 18.8 µg/m³Conceição do Mato Dentro, 8 October: 20.3 µg/m³Conceição do Mato Dentro, 9 October: 34.8 µg/m³, 3.3× its usual 10.4Conceição do Mato Dentro, 10 October: 16.8 µg/m³Conceição do Mato Dentro, 11 October: 8.4 µg/m³Conceição do Mato Dentro, 12 October: 10.8 µg/m³CongonhasCongonhas, 6 October: 15.3 µg/m³Congonhas, 7 October: 23.0 µg/m³Congonhas, 8 October: 29.8 µg/m³Congonhas, 9 October: 29.3 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 11.5Congonhas, 10 October: 9.9 µg/m³Congonhas, 11 October: 4.2 µg/m³Congonhas, 12 October: 10.4 µg/m³ItabiraItabira, 6 October: 21.6 µg/m³Itabira, 7 October: 27.1 µg/m³Itabira, 8 October: 18.2 µg/m³Itabira, 9 October: 26.7 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 11.0Itabira, 10 October: 14.0 µg/m³Itabira, 11 October: 8.1 µg/m³Itabira, 12 October: 12.8 µg/m³Coronel FabricianoCoronel Fabriciano, 6 October: 15.3 µg/m³Coronel Fabriciano, 7 October: 14.3 µg/m³Coronel Fabriciano, 8 October: 16.2 µg/m³Coronel Fabriciano, 9 October: 25.0 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 11.9Coronel Fabriciano, 10 October: 17.3 µg/m³Coronel Fabriciano, 11 October: 13.4 µg/m³Coronel Fabriciano, 12 October: 13.4 µg/m³6 Oct789101112
Every counted city, in the order the episode reached them, 3 days before to 3 after. Each square is a day, coloured by that day's PM2.5; outlined: at twice the city's usual or more.
Good0–50
Moderate51–100
Sensitive groups101–150
Unhealthy151–200
Very unhealthy201–300
Hazardous301+

Every city it reached

CityDaysHighestUsualAbove usual
IbiritéMinas Gerais, Brazil1 51.99 October8.66.0×
BetimMinas Gerais, Brazil1 51.39 October9.55.4×
Belo HorizonteMinas Gerais, Brazil1 53.99 October11.74.6×
Conceição do Mato DentroMinas Gerais, Brazil1 34.89 October10.43.3×
Nova UniãoMinas Gerais, Brazil1 43.99 October14.33.1×
CongonhasMinas Gerais, Brazil1 29.39 October11.52.5×
ItabiraMinas Gerais, Brazil1 26.79 October11.02.4×
Coronel FabricianoMinas Gerais, Brazil1 25.09 October11.92.1×

Daily means in µg/m³, over the days each city counted in this episode. Highest: its highest of those days. Usual: the city's median for the time of year of that day (its days within 21 days of the date, every year, leaving out the week around it). Above usual: its highest day against that, with a usual under 5 µg/m³ taken as 5.

Against other episodes in Brazil

Number 16 of 20 episodes in Brazil since our records began, by cities reached.

Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 20.

Use this page

SmogRank, Minas Gerais, Brazil, October 2024: 8 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 9 October 2024, smogrank.com/episodes/2024-10-minas-gerais-brazil (accessed 12 October 2026).

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You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms.

An episode is a run of days when many cities close to each other (four or more within 350 km on a day, 8 or more in all) each had a daily PM2.5 mean of at least 25 µg/m³ and at least 2 times their usual for that time of year. Found in our own measurements, not picked by hand. How we find episodes. Values are each city's daily mean of its own monitors; causes are the usual kinds for a pattern like this, not a confirmed source. Dust: contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information 2024. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.