Fires in the Amazon rainforests were likely intentional
Wildfires set to clear and make farmable land reached unprecedented levels this past week in Brazil.
Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil , official data showed Saturday, amid growing international pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro to put out the worst blazes in years. Official figures show 78,383 forest fires were recorded in Brazil so far this year, the highest.
Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil , official data showed Saturday, as thousands of troops were More than half of the fires are in the Amazon , where more than 20 million people live. Some 1,663 new fires were ignited between Thursday and Friday, according to Brazil 's
Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil, official data showed Saturday, amid growing international pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro to put out the worst blazes in years.
© CARL DE SOUZA A piece of land burns in the Amazon rainforest, about 65 kilometres from Porto Velho in northern Brazil's Rondonia state, on August 23, 2019 The fires in the world's largest rainforest have triggered a global outcry and are dominating the G7 meeting in Biarritz in southern France.
Official figures show 78,383 forest fires were recorded in Brazil so far this year, the highest number of any year since 2013, and experts say the clearing of land during the months-long dry season to make way for crops or grazing has accelerated the deforestation.
Brazil's Amazon fires started by humans, environmentalists say
Environmental organizations and researchers say the wildfires blazing in the Brazilian rainforest were set by cattle ranchers and loggers who want to clear and utilize the land, emboldened by the country's pro-business president. "The vast majority of these fires are human-lit," said Christian Poirier, the program director of non-profit organization Amazon Watch. He added that even during dry seasons, the Amazon -- a humid rainforest -- doesn't catch on fire easily, unlike the dry bushland in California or Australia.
PORTO VELHO, BRAZIL - Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil , official data showed Saturday, amid growing international pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro to put out the worst blazes in years.
Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil , official data showed Saturday, amid growing international pressure on President Official figures show 78,383 forest fires were recorded in Brazil so far this year, the highest number of any year since 2013, and experts say
More than half of the fires are in the Amazon, and some 1,663 new fires were ignited between Thursday and Friday, according to the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
The new data came a day after Bolsonaro authorized the deployment of the military to fight the fires and crack down on criminal activities in the region.
In the Amazon region, fires are rare for much of the year because wet weather prevents them from starting and spreading. However, in July and August, activity typically increases due to the arrival of the dry season. Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, a federal agency monitoring deforestation and wildfires, said the country has seen a record number of wildfires this year.
Brazilian troops begin deploying to fight Amazon fires
Backed by military aircraft, Brazilian troops on Saturday were deploying in the Amazon to fight fires that have swept the region and prompted anti-government protests as well as an international outcry.
Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil , official data showed Saturday, amid growing international pressure on The blazes have stirred outrage globally, with thousands of people protesting in Brazil and Europe on Friday. More demonstrations are planned in
Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil , official data showed Saturday, as thousands of troops were made available to help fight the worst blazes in years following a global outcry. More than half of the fires are in the Amazon , where more than 20 million people live.
(Pictured) Aerial picture showing smoke from a two-kilometre-long stretch of fire billowing from the Amazon rainforest about 65 km from Porto Velho, in the state of Rondonia, on Aug. 23.
Neri dos Santos Silva, center, watches an encroaching fire threat after digging trenches to keep the flames from spreading to the farm he works on, in the Nova Santa Helena municipality, in the state of Mato Grosso, on Aug. 23.
A burning tract of Amazon jungle is seen while as it is being cleared by loggers and farmers in Porto Velho, on Aug. 23.
G7 leaders vow to help Brazil fight fires, repair damage
Leaders of the Group of Seven nations said Sunday they are preparing to help Brazil battle fires burning across the Amazon region and repair the damage even as tens of thousands of soldiers got ready to join the fight against blazes that have caused global alarm. French President Emmanuel Macron said the summit leaders were nearing an agreement on how to support Brazil and said the agreement would involve both technical and financial mechanisms ‘‘so that we can help them in the most effective way possible.
While fires have eased in the Brazilian Amazon , it's been a different story in another fragile region to the south - the Cerrado savannah. Although the Brazilian Amazon is under threat, the vast majority of it remains intact. The Cerrado is about half the size of the Brazilian Amazon , and land is being lost
Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil , official data showed Saturday, amid growing international pressure on The blazes have stirred outrage globally, with thousands protesting in Brazil and Europe on Friday. Earlier this week, Bolsonaro blamed the fires
Trucks drive alongside scorched fields on the BR 163 highway in the Nova Santa Helena municipality, in the state of Mato Grosso, on Aug. 23.
A charred trunk is seen on a tract of Amazon jungle that was recently burned by loggers and farmers in Porto Velho, on Aug. 23.
How Much Oxygen Does the Amazon Rain Forest Provide?
"There are many many reasons to be concerned…but a risk to the world's oxygen supply is not one of them," Allison Mills from Michigan Technological University told Newsweek.
Virgin jungle stands next to an area that was burnt recently near Porto Velho, on Aug. 23.
Aerial picture showing a fire raging in the Amazon rain forest about 65 km from Porto Velho, in the state of Rondonia, in northern Brazil, on Aug. 23.
A handout picture provided by Porto Velho's Firefighters shows a fire at the Brazilian Amazonia, in Porto Velho, capital of Rondonia, Brazil, on Aug. 18.
A handout picture made available by Rio Branco Firemen shows the fight against the fire in Rio Branco, Amazonian State of Acre, Brazil, on Aug. 17.
Active fires, represented by red dots, are pictured from space over Bolivia, captured by the Suomi NPP weather satellite on Aug. 22. The city lights of Santa Cruz, Bolivia's largest city, are visible as the bright, white glow in the left-center of the image.
Bolivian soldiers work during a forest wildfire near Robore, Santa Cruz region, eastern Bolivia on Aug. 22.
Brazil's former Environment Minister (2003-2008), Marina Silva, speaks during a conference at a university in Bogota on Aug. 22. Silva said that the situation in the Brazilian Amazon, plagued by severe fires and deforestation, is "out of control." The environmental leader does not hesitate to point at the government of far-right Jair Bolsonaro to have led to "unbridled action" in one of the world's vital ecosystem.
This TV grab shows wildfire near Robore, Santa Cruz region, eastern Bolivia on Aug. 21. Up to now, wildfires in Bolivia have devastated about 745,000 hectares of forests and pasturelands. Neighboring Peru, which contains much of the Amazon basin, announced it was "on alert" for wildfires spreading from the rainforest in Brazil and Bolivia.
A tract of Amazon jungle burns as it is being cleared by loggers and farmers on Aug. 21 in Novo Airao, Amazonas state, Brazil.
A bird is seen perching on a tree devastated by a fire during the dry season on Aug. 21 in Brasilia, Brazil.
A view of the devastation caused by a fire during the dry season on Aug. 21 in Brasilia, Brazil.
A man works in a burning tract of Amazon jungle as it is being cleared by loggers and farmers on Aug. 20 in Iranduba, Amazonas state, Brazil.
Smoke rises from the forest in a region of the Amazon in Brazil near the Colombian border, on Aug. 21
Why it will take more than $20M to help Brazil put out Amazon fires
"Twenty-million dollars is a drop in the bucket. It's absurd to imagine logistically what effect it can have," an Amazon researcher said.
This satellite image provided by NASA shows the fires in Brazil on Aug. 20. As fires raged in the Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian government on Thursday denounced international critics who say President Jair Bolsonaro is not doing.
In this Aug. 20 drone photo released by the Corpo de Bombeiros de Mato Grosso, brush fires burn in Guaranta do Norte municipality, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.
The darkened sky at Sao Paulo on Aug. 19 in Brazil. Residents recently reported black rain. Studies by two universities confirmed that the rainwater contains fire residues
Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rain forest near Humaita, Amazonas State, Brazil, on Aug. 17.
In this Aug. 15 satellite image, fires burn in the State of Rondonia, Brazil, in the upper Amazon River basin.
Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rain forest near Humaita, Amazonas State, Brazil, on Aug. 14.
A handout photo made available by NASA of a satellite image showing several fires burning in the Brazilian states of Amazonas (top C-L), Para (top R), Mato Grosso (bottom R) and Rondonia (bottom C), on Aug. 13.
Amid Outrage Over Rainforest Fires, Many in the Amazon Remain Defiant
Seeing the global panic over thousands of forest fires in the Amazon last week, and hearing the calls to boycott Brazilian products, Agamenon da Silva Menezes wondered if the world had gone mad. Mr. da Silva is a farmers’ union leader in Novo Progresso, a community in a heavily deforested state in northern Brazil, and he considers the fires burning in the region a normal part of life. It’s how some farmers clear land to make a living, and a natural result of the dry season. “We’re going to continue producing here in the Amazon and we’re going to continue feeding the world,” Mr. da Silva said in an interview.
Slideshow by photo services
The blazes have stirred outrage globally, with thousands protesting in Brazil and Europe on Friday.
Earlier this week, Bolsonaro blamed the fires on non-government organizations, suggesting they deliberately started them after their funding was cut.
The growing crisis threatens to torpedo a blockbuster trade deal between the European Union and South American countries, including Brazil, that took 20 years to negotiate.
EU Council president Donald Tusk told reporters at the G7 on Saturday that it was hard to imagine European countries ratifying a trade pact with the Mercosur bloc as long as Brazil fails to curb the fires ravaging the Amazon, which is considered to be the "lungs of the planet" and crucial to keeping climate change in check.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken the lead in piling pressure on Bolsonaro over the fires, had earlier accused the far-right leader Bolsonaro of lying to him about Brazil's stance on climate change.
Environmental specialists say the fires have been accompanied by increasing deforestation in the Amazon region, which in July quadrupled compared to the same month in 2018, according to data from INPE.
Bolsonaro has previously attacked the institute, describing its data as lies and instigating the sacking of its head.
On Friday, he insisted that the fires should not be used as an excuse to punish Brazil.
"There are forest fires all over the world, and this cannot be used as a pretext for possible international sanctions," Bolsonaro said.
Read More
'I Thought the World Was Ending': What's Fueling the Amazon Rainforest Fires.
Deforestation has been rising since 2015 as Brazil’s recession pushed poorer Brazilians into illegal logging. More than 43,000 fires have burned in the region this year, pitting environmentalists against a defiant president and reviving conspiracy theories about foreign interference.
Wildfires set to clear and make farmable land reached unprecedented levels this past week in Brazil. 
Environmental organizations and researchers say the wildfires blazing in the Brazilian rainforest were set by cattle ranchers and loggers who want to clear and utilize the land, emboldened by the country's pro-business president. "The vast majority of these fires are human-lit," said Christian Poirier, the program director of non-profit organization Amazon Watch. He added that even during dry seasons, the Amazon -- a humid rainforest -- doesn't catch on fire easily, unlike the dry bushland in California or Australia. 
Backed by military aircraft, Brazilian troops on Saturday were deploying in the Amazon to fight fires that have swept the region and prompted anti-government protests as well as an international outcry. 
Leaders of the Group of Seven nations said Sunday they are preparing to help Brazil battle fires burning across the Amazon region and repair the damage even as tens of thousands of soldiers got ready to join the fight against blazes that have caused global alarm. French President Emmanuel Macron said the summit leaders were nearing an agreement on how to support Brazil and said the agreement would involve both technical and financial mechanisms ‘‘so that we can help them in the most effective way possible. 
"There are many many reasons to be concerned…but a risk to the world's oxygen supply is not one of them," Allison Mills from Michigan Technological University told Newsweek. 
"Twenty-million dollars is a drop in the bucket. It's absurd to imagine logistically what effect it can have," an Amazon researcher said. 
Seeing the global panic over thousands of forest fires in the Amazon last week, and hearing the calls to boycott Brazilian products, Agamenon da Silva Menezes wondered if the world had gone mad. Mr. da Silva is a farmers’ union leader in Novo Progresso, a community in a heavily deforested state in northern Brazil, and he considers the fires burning in the region a normal part of life. It’s how some farmers clear land to make a living, and a natural result of the dry season. “We’re going to continue producing here in the Amazon and we’re going to continue feeding the world,” Mr. da Silva said in an interview. 
Fires in the Amazon rainforests were likely... 
Brazil's Amazon fires started by humans, environmentalists... 
Brazilian troops begin deploying to fight Amazon... 
G7 leaders vow to help Brazil fight fires, repair... 
How Much Oxygen Does the Amazon Rain Forest... 
Why it will take more than $20M to help Brazil put out Amazon... 
Amid Outrage Over Rainforest Fires, Many in the Amazon Remain... 
'I Thought the World Was Ending': What's Fueling the Amazon Rainforest... 
