The Amazon is burning: What you need to know
Where are the fires? Why is the Amazon important? Six things to know about the fires burning in the 'lungs of Earth'.
by David Child
The Amazon is being shrouded in plumes of smoke as fires rage across parts of the rainforest, imperilling the so-called "lungs of the planet" and the vast array of life to which it is home. Visible from outer space, the smoke billows have prompted international alarm, calls for action and much finger-pointing over what, or who, is responsible for the burning. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, in particular, has come under intense scrutiny for his controversial stewardship of Brazil's majority share of the rainforest.
Where are the fires?
Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) spotted more than 9,500 new forest fires in Brazil since August 15 alone, while atmospheric monitoring agencies have tracked smoke from the Amazon region drifting thousands of kilometres across the Latin American giant to the Atlantic coast and Sao Paulo, briefly turning daytime in Brazil's biggest city to night on Monday.
What's causing them?
Fires are a regular and natural occurrence in the Amazon at this time of year, during the dry season. But environmentalists and non-governmental organisations have attributed the record number of fires to farmers setting the forest alight to clear land for pasture and to loggers razing the forest for its wood, with INPE itself ruling out natural phenomena being responsible for the surge.
Critics say far-right President Bolsonaro's weakening of Brazil's environmental agency, IBAMA, and push to open up the Amazon region for more farming and mining has emboldened such actors and created a climate of impunity for those felling the forest illegally.
Read more at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/amazon-burning-190823082046821.html
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