- The count of fires in Brazil’s rainforest jumped to 28% in July a year ago.
- Brazil’s space research agency Inpe recorded 6,803 fires in the Amazon last month, in July 2019. Although that is a 3rd year high for July, the figure lost significance in comparison to last year’s peak of 30,900 fires in August.
- We can expect that August will be a difficult month and September will be the worse.
- Fires are also worsening in the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetlands, adjacent to the southern Amazon. In July, the number of blazes there more than tripled to 1,684 compared to the same month a year ago, according to INPE data, the most for that month since records began in 1998.
The count of fires in Brazil’s rainforest jumped to 28% in July a year ago. Official data showed as some environmentalists warned about this week could be a repeat of last year’s surging destruction of the world’s largest rainforest. Brazil’s space research agency Inpe recorded 6,803 fires in the Amazon last month, in July 2019. Although that is a 3rd year high for July, the figure lost significance in comparison to last year’s peak of 30,900 fires in August.
However, environmental groups say there are fret signs of what may come with the last days of the month showing a sharp spike. More than 1,000 fires were registered on July the 30th. The highest number for a single day is in July since 2005, according to an analysis by an advocacy group Greenpeace Brasil.
A Terrible Sign for the Rainforest
“It’s a terrible sign,” said Ane Alencar, science director at Brazil’s Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM). “We can expect that August will be a difficult month and September will be at the worse.” Environmental Officers blames the right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro for encouraging the illegal loggers, miners and land speculators to destroy the forest with his vision of economic development for the region. Bolsonaro defends his plans to introduce mining and farming in protected reserves as a way to lift the region out of poverty.
This year, the president authorized a military deployment from May to November to combat deforestation and forest fires. He also banned the setting fires in the region for 120 days. In 2019, Brazil instituted the same temporary policies later in the year. Scientists say the rainforest is a vital defense against climate warming because it absorbs greenhouse gases. Private organization Amazon Conservation says it 62 major fires have been tracked on July 30th .
Many came after July 15, when the fire ban went into effect indicating it has not been entirely effective. The overwhelming majority of large fires, where elevated levels of aerosols in the smoke indicate large amounts of burning biomass. Therefore, a fire in recently deforested areas, with none found in virgin forest. Criminals generally extract valuable wood from the jungle before setting fire to the land to increase its value for farming and ranching.
Natural Fires are Rare in Amazon
Natural fires are very rare in the Amazon. Deforestation hit an 11-year high in 2019 and has soared a further 25% in the first half of 2020. Earlier this month, scientists with U.S. space agency NASA said higher surface temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean in 2020 were drawing moisture away from the southern Amazon. “As a result, the southern Amazon landscape becomes dry and flammable, making human-set fires used for agriculture and land clearing more prone to growing out of control and spreading,” NASA said on its website.
Fires are also worsening in the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetlands, adjacent to the southern Amazon. In July, the number of blazes there more than tripled to 1,684 compared to the same month a year ago, according to INPE data, the most for that month since records began in 1998.
