A record number of fires have devastated huge parts of the Amazon Rainforest, striking a huge blow in the global fight against climate change.
The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said there have been 72,843 fires in Brazil this year, with more than half in the Amazon region – an increase of more than 80 per cent compared with the previous year.
Video footage of the fires have gone viral on social media, while millions fear the impact the ongoing destruction of the world’s largest rainforest may have on the climate change crisis.
Earlier this month, Brazil declared a state of emergency over the rising number of fires in the region.
Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his environmental policies have also come under scrutiny, with critics saying he favours development over conservation.
Here’s everything you need to know about the fires ravaging the Amazon rainforest:
What areas have been affected by the fires?
The European Union Earth Observation Program’s Sentinel satellites captured images of “significant amounts of smoke” over Amazonas, Rondonia and other areas.
Smoke has reached all the way to Sao Paulo, more than 1,700 miles away.
How big are the fires?
The scale of the fires is so huge that they can be seen from space, NASA has said.
According to the INPE, more than 1 ½ football fields of Amazon rainforest are being destroyed every minute of every day.
“This is without question one of only two times that there have been fires like this in the Amazon,” ecologist Thomas Lovejoy told National Geographic.
“There’s no question that it’s a consequence of the recent upstick in deforestation.”
How much damage have they caused?
The Amazon rainforest is considered vital in the slowing of global warming, thanks to its plethora of habitable species of fauna and flora.
It generates about 20 per cent of the world’s oxygen and 10 per cent of the world’s known biodiversity. Often referred to as “the lungs of the planet,” it plays a significant role in regulating the climate.
This means that the destruction of the Amazon rainforest would have a devastating impact on everything from the air we breathe to the water we drink.
The fires are also causing millions of people indigenous to the Amazon to be displaced. An estimated 500 tribes live within the Amazon.
What caused the fire?
According to NASA, fires in the Amazonian area often occur during the dry season, which typically starts around July and August. Peak “activity” is said to happen by early September and ceases by mid-November.
Blazes are also started deliberately by a way of deforestation – people clearing out the land for farming or ranches.
Why is President Bolsonaro being criticised?
Jair Bolsonoro’s environmental policies have become a contentious issue for Brazilians and environmentalists all over the world.
Whilst previous governments made efforts to reduce deforestation, Mr Bolsonaro’s government has criticised the harsher penalties implemented for those who commit environmental crimes.
Last month, Mr Bolsonaro accused the INPE’s director of lying about the scale of deforestation, resulting in the director of the agency being sacked over the row.
Brazil’s president has now accused environmental groups of intentionally starting the fires to embarrass his government.
“On the question of burning in the Amazon, which in my opinion may have been initiated by NGOs because they lost money, what is the intention? To bring problems to Brazil,” Mr Bolsonaro told a steel industry congress in Brasilia.
The president’s comments have prompted Norway and Germany to suspend their donations to Brazil’s Amazon fund. There have also been calls for Europe to block a trade deal with Brazil and other South American nations.
