The Amazon is on Fire

Deforestation in Brazil

São Paulo plunged into darkness in the middle of the day…The reason for these shocking images: huge wildfires burning through Amazonia. Since the start of July 2019, forest fires are raging through the Amazonas and Rondônia states, in the heart of the Amazonian rainforest. Several thousands of people have responded to the crisis on social media using the hashtag #PrayforAmazonia. Several elements are to blame for these fires, both on a natural but also human level. The dry season creates the favorable conditions for the use and spread of fire, but starting a fire is the work of humans, either deliberately or by accident.

Tweet:

Let's help share awareness, it's our mother earth (our home) we're talking about!! #PrayforAmazonia

We can’t survive without lungs, Could earth survive without its lungs? #PrayforAmazonas #prayforamazonia

Please pray for it and spread what it's happening because it's not only harmful to Brazil, it is harmful to the whole world! #PrayforAmazonia

In July 2019, the deforestation rate in Brazil was nearly 4 times higher than in July 2018 according to INPE in 2019. Some activists and politicians blame the policy enforced by Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian President, for being the cause of this increased deforestation. On August 13, the smoke produced by the various fires spread across an area of 3.2 million km2. It was this smoke, mixed with that of neighboring countries,that plunged Sao Paulo into darkness, even though the city is located several thousands of kilometers from the various fires. Between January 1st and August 19th, 2019, the number of forest fires in Brazil soared by 83% compared to the same period in 2018 based on a 2019 study by the INPE Queimadas Program.

According to the WWF, Amazonia houses about 50 to 70% of global biodiversity.

Brut. Nature