The Pantanal biome, at the confluence of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, is the largest continental wetland on the planet and an invaluable reserve of biodiversity. The exceptional 2020 fire season in Pantanal drew particular attention due to the severe wildfires and the catastrophic natural and socio-economic impacts witnessed within the biome. So far, little progress has been made in order to better understand the influence of climate extremes on fire occurrence in Pantanal. Here, we evaluate how extreme hot conditions, through heatwave events, are related to the occurrence and the exacerbation of fires in this region. A historical analysis using a statistical regression model found that heatwaves during the dry season explained 82% of the interannual variability of burned area during the fire season. In a future perspective, an ensemble of CORDEX-CORE simulations assuming different Repr...