Amazon Fire

The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is raging with thousands of fires that have never been seen in nearly a decade. The regions most affected by the fires are the northern states of Roraima, Rondonia and the Amazon. However, the images circulating on social mediaThese fires under the marking of #PrayforAmazonas (Pray for the Amazon) may not be accurate, many due to ancient fires that were decades ago and some were not in Brazil at all. What exactly is happening in the Amazon, and what is the real impact of these fires? Brazil has set a record level of fires this year, 2019, according to data from the Brazilian Space Agency. According to the National Institute of Space Research in Brazil, data from its satellite indicate an 85 percent increase in fire rates, compared to the same period last year 2018. According to official data, more than 75,000 forest fires were detected in Brazil in the first eight months of this year - the highest number since 2013. The number of fires recorded in the same period last year did not exceed 40,000. Fires are common in the Amazon forests in the dry season, which runs from July to October. Fires can be ignited by nature, as in lightning strikes, but also by farmers and loggers who dispose of firewood to prepare land for new crops or grazing. Activists say anti-environmental speeches by Brazilian President Yair Bolsonaro encourage such activities to get rid of trees. Bolsonaro, who is skeptical about climate change, in turn accuses non-governmental organizations of setting fire to smear his government. But the president later said the government lacked the resources to put out the fires. Northern Brazil was deeply affected Most of the areas most affected by fires are located in the north of the country. The states of Roraima, Acre, Rondonia and Amazon have experienced the largest increase in fire rates compared to the rate of the last four years (2015-2018). Roraima saw an increase in fire rates by 141 percent, Acre state by 138 percent, Rondonia state by 115 percent and Amazon by 81 percent. To the south, the state of Mato Grosso do Sul saw a 114 percent increase. The largest state in Brazil, the Amazon, declared a state of emergency. Fires release large amounts of smoke and carbon emissions Clouds of fire covered the sky of the Amazon and beyond. According to the European Union's Copernicus (KAMS) air surveillance service, clouds of smoke travel all the way to the Atlantic coast. It even made the sky darker in São Paulo more than 3,200 kilometers. About three million species of flora and fauna and one million indigenous people live in the Amazon basin. The remains of the Amazon are precious stones When you cut down trees or burn them? Other countries affected by the fires A number of countries in the Amazon basin, which can accommodate its limbs on an area of ​​7.4 million square kilometers More than 26 thousand fires, in Bolivia in third place registered more than 17 thousand fires.