Emergency
It also releases huge quantities of pollution and greenhouse gases. On the ground the flames are destroying vital wildlife habitat and the forest homes of indigenous people.
Amnesty International has blamed the Brazilian government.
The country’s Right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, has repeatedly said the Amazon should be opened up to mining, agricultural and logging companies.
Images show huge areas of the once pristine rainforest on fire and the smouldering charred remains. Much of this scorched earth is likely to be turned into farmland.
Mr Macron urged the G7 to “discuss this emergency”. He added: “Our house is burning. Literally.The Amazon rainforest – the lungs which produces 20 per cent of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire.”
He was backed by Mr Johnson. His spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister is deeply concerned by the increase in fires in the Amazon rainforest and the impact of the tragic loss of these precious habitats.
“The effect of these fires will be felt around the world, which is why we need international action to protect the world’s rainforests.
“The UK will continue to support projects in Brazil to do this and the Prime Minister will use the G7 to call for a renewed focus on protecting nature and tackling climate change together.”
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel said the fires were “shocking and threatening”. Mr Bolsonaro has called the Brazilian figures revealing an increase in Amazon fires a “lie”.
He slammed Mr Macron for using a “sensationalist tone” that “does nothing to solve the problem”.
But on Thursday he admitted that farmers could be behind some of the fires and said he may mobilise Brazil’s army to fight them.
The director of science at Kew Gardens, Brazil-born Professor Alexandre Antonelli, said the blazes will have “far-reaching effects”.
He said: “The Amazon is burning. Unnaturally, illegally, irreversibly. Will the world just watch?
“The Amazon is the most biodiverse forest on Earth. The alarmingly high number of human-triggered fires happening right now in the southern deforestation zone is releasing vast quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and posing a severe threat to thousands of plant and animal species.”
The Church of England’s lead bishop for environmental affairs, the Bishop of Salisbury, Nick Holtam, added: “There is a climate emergency which does not know international boundaries. The Amazon is a global resource.”