The Amazon is on fire - how bad is it?

in #forest5 years ago

thousands of fires are ravaging the AMAZON RAINFOREST in Brazil - the most intense blazes for almost a decade. The northern states of RORAIMA, ACRE, Rondônia and Amazonas as well as Mato Grosso do Sul have been particularly badly affected.

However, images purported to be of the fires - including some shared under the hashtag #PrayforAmazonas - have been shown to be decades old or not even in Brazil.

s 1.png
So what's actually happening and how bad are the fires?

There have been a lot of fires this year
Brazil's Amazon rainforest has seen a record number of fires in 2019, Brazilian space agency data suggests.

The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) says its satellite data shows an 85% increase on the same period in 2018.

s 2.png

The official figures show more than 75,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year - the highest number since 2013. That compares with 39,759 in all of 2018.

Forest fires are common in the Amazon during the dry season, which runs from July to October. They can be caused by naturally occurring events, such as by lightning strikes, but also by farmers and loggers clearing land for crops or grazing.

In response, Mr Bolsonaro, a long-time climate sceptic, accused non-governmental organisations of starting the wildfires themselves to damage his government's image.

He later said the government lacked the resources to fight the flames.

The north of Brazil has been badly affected
Most of the worst-affected regions are in the north.

Roraima, Acre, Rondônia and Amazonas all saw a large percentage increase in fires when compared with the average across the last four years (2015-2018).

s 3.png

s 4.jpg

Sort:  

Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/amazon-fires-how-bad-have-they-got/ar-AAGc7yn