BRAZIL’S FORESTS BLAZING ON
Nearly 73,000 fires recorded between January and August, compared with 39,759 last year
THE number of forest fires in Brazil surged in the first eight months of this year, official data show, as President Jair Bolsonaro faces growing criticism over rampant destruction of the Amazon.
Nearly 73,000 fires were recorded between January and August, compared with 39,759 in all of last
year, the embattled National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said on Monday.
That is the highest number of forest fires for any year since 2013 and follows two years of declines.
“What we are seeing is a consequence of the increase in deforestation seen in recent figures,” said Ricardo Mello of World Wide Fund for Nature’s Amazon Programme.
Forest fires tend to intensify during the dry season, which usually ends in late October or early November, as land is cleared to make way for crops or grazing.
INPE’s figures show fires were concentrated in states occupying the Amazon.
Thick smoke has blanketed cities in recent days and caused a commercial flight to be diverted.
The data comes as Bolsonaro faces growing criticism over his anti-environment rhetoric, which activists blame for emboldening loggers, miners and farmers in the Amazon.
Norway, on Thursday last week, joined Germany in halting Amazon protection subsidies, accusing Brazil of turning its back on the fight against deforestation.
The governors of nine states spanning the Amazon published a statement on Sunday saying they would negotiate with the Amazon Fund contributors.
The latest INPE figures coincide with a United Nations regional meeting on climate change in Brazil ahead of December’s summit in Chile.
INPE is already in Bolsonaro’s crosshairs over data showing a surge in deforestation in recent months.
Bolsonaro dismissed the figures as lies and sacked the head of the agency tasked with tracking forest clearing.