AMAZON BLAZE
Amazon fires – is the rainforest still burning?
DEVASTATING wildfires spanning Brazil's Amazon rainforest, dubbed "the world's lungs," are destroying one of earth's most important ecosystems.
But what caused the massive fire to break out and when did it start? Here's the latest.
What started the Amazon rainforest fire?
Wildfires can be common in the dry season, but most experts agree that the fires have been deliberately set by farmers illegally deforesting land for cattle ranching.
Conservationists have blamed the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, for the current Amazon rainforest fires, saying he has encouraged loggers and farmers to clear the land.
Since becoming president, Bolsonaro has opposed protections for the rainforest, saying the land should be used for agriculture and mining.
Logging and cattle ranching are industries that rely on deforestation to exist.
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Instead, Bolsonaro has blamed environmentalists and non-government organisations for starting the fires over "budget cuts".
He's been unable to provide any evidence to back up the suspicions.
has blamed the blaze on deforestation.
Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist and National Geographic Explorer-at-Large, said: “This is without any question one of only two times that there have been fires like this.
“There’s no question that it’s a consequence of the recent uptick in deforestation."
Brazil's environmental minister claimed that the fires have been caused by unusual weather conditions, including a lack of rain, increased heat and wind.
Christian Poirier, the programme director of the non-profit organisation Amazon Watch, told CNN: "The vast majority of these fires are human-lit."
Meteorologist Haley Brink agreed, saying the fires are "definitely human-induced".
More than 72,000 fires have been recorded this year, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
The agency also said the rise in fires marks an 83 per cent increase over the same period of 2018 and is the highest since records began in 2013.
American space agency Nasa said in a statement: “The intensity and frequency of droughts... have been linked with increases in regional deforestation and anthropogenic climate change.”
Ricardo Mello, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Amazon Programme, said the fires were “a consequence of the increase in deforestation seen in recent figures”.
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What's being done to stop the fires and when did they start?
On August 24, after the fires had been raging for at least six days, Bolsonaro deployed the army to help tackle the fire.
Bolsonaro pledged in an address to the nation to mobilise the army to help combat the blazes, while his administration launched a diplomatic charm offensive to try to mend bridges overseas.
In August he fired the head scientist at the National Institute for Space Research for sharing satellite photos that showed the huge increase in fires.
Data showed there has been an 84 per cent increase in deforestation from the same period in 2018.
Bolsonaro said the satellite data was a lie.
The president's chief of staff claimed European environmental concerns were a plot to constrain Brazil’s economic growth.
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Brazil's foreign minister tweeted that the fires were a tactic by the international left.
It is not known when this outbreak started but the fires have increased, with more than 9,500 infernos since Thursday, August 15, according to INPE.
By August 20, the dark smoke coming from the world’s largest tropical rainforest had moved to Brazil’s Atlantic coast, the World Meteorological Organisation said.
It is predicted the number of wildfires in the Amazon will keep increasing in future months.
Protecting the Amazon is enshrined in Brazil's own environmental laws.
Vast areas are protected as nature reserves that belong to Brazil's indigenous people.
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What percentage of oxygen does the Amazon supply?
Spanning 1.7 billion acres, the Amazon rainforest is widely regarded as “the lungs of the world”.
The trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
This plays a major role in regulating the Earth's climate and is thought to provide 20 per cent of the world’s oxygen.
Were the rainforest to disappear, everything from global agriculture to the water we drink would be impacted.
UN Secretary General tweeted: "I’m deeply concerned by the fires in the Amazon rainforest.
"In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity. The Amazon must be protected."
Which animals are affected by the fire?
The Amazon rainforest is deemed to be the most biologically diverse place on Earth, according to .
This rainforest is one of Earth’s last refuges for jaguars, harpy eagles, and pink river dolphins, and it is home to sloths, black spider monkeys, and poison dart frogs.
It contains one in 10 known species on Earth, 40,000 plant species, 3,000 freshwater fish species, and more than 370 types of reptiles.
More than 2,000 new species of plants and vertebrates have been described since 1999.
This rainforest is also home to more than a thousand different species of birds.
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What do world leaders say?
At the annual G7 summit, this year's host, French President Emmanuel Macron said £18million worth of aid would be released to help fight the forest fire.
At talks about climate and biodiversity on Monday, August 26, Macron said the Amazon was the “lungs” of the planet.
He also said leaders were studying the possibility of similar support in Africa, also suffering from fires in its rainforests.
But Brazil rejected the offer, with foreign minister Ernesto Araujo saying the new initiative proposed is unnecessary because international mechanisms are already in place in Brazil to help fight deforestation.
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Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, accused France of treating the country like a "colony", with the defence minister further claiming that the forest fires were not out of control.
Commenting on the G7 offer of aid, Mr Bolsonaro's chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni, told the Globo news website: "Thanks, but maybe those resources are more relevant to reforest Europe.
"Macron cannot even avoid a predictable fire in a church that is part of the world's heritage, and he wants to give us lessons for our country?" Mr Lorenzoni added, in a reference to the fire that hit Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris in April.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also weighed in on the issue agreeing talks must take place.
His Number 10 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."
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What areas of the forest are affected?
Areas across Brazil have been directly affected by the fire.
Satellite images show fires in the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Rondonia, Para, and Mato Grosso, with Amazonas the worst affected.
Taken together those states form the bulk of western and central Brazil.
But it's not just the country of Brazil for whom the Amazon is important.
The rainforest generates 20 per cent of all the oxygen we breathe, and contains 10 per cent of the world's biodiversity.
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The heavy smoke caused a daytime blackout more than 1,700 miles away in Brazil’s largest city São Paulo on Monday, August 19.
The city was plunged into darkness at around 3pm on Monday, a situation which lasted for around an hour, local paper Folha de S Paulo reported.
The smoke was so large and thick it was picked up by satellite images released by Nasa.
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How has the public responded?
Within Brazil, President Bolsonaro has faced criticism for his statements about the rainforest and his lack of action on illegal logging.
In July, an anonymous Brazilian official told the his government was encouraging deforestation.
The hashtags and have begun trending on social media.
The World Wildlife Fund also tweeted footage of the fire captioned: "There was worldwide outcry when the Notre Dame cathedral was on fire.
"Why is there not the same level of outrage for the fires destroying the ?"
Images of fires raging in the Amazon broadcast around the globe sparked protests outside Brazilian embassies from Mexico City and Lima to London and Paris.
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How are the fires affecting the indigenous people?
The indigenous Mura tribe are now surrounded by dry soil and fallen timber: the result of rapid deforestation and the thousands of rainforest wildfires that are raging out of control across Brazil.
Indigenous tribe leader Raimundo Mura, who lives in a reserve near Humaita in the Amazonas state said: "I'll give my last drop of blood for this forest."
He mourned: "All the trees had lives, they all needed to live, each in their own place. For us this is destruction. What is being done here is an atrocity against us."
Handech Wakana Mura, another local leader within the forest, said: "With each passing day we see the destruction advance – deforestation, invasion and logging.
"We are sad because the forest is dying at every moment. We feel the climate changing and the world needs the forest.
"We need the forest and our children need the forest."
LATEST ON AMAZON FIRES
Are the fires still burning?
President Bolsonaro signed a decree banning using fire to clear land for 60 days in response to Amazon rainforest situation.
But environmentalists have warned that the "worst of the fire is yet to come" and overwhelming majority of forest clearance in the Brazilian Amazon is already illegal.
In the first 48 hours after the ban satellite data from the National Space Research Institute showed 3,859 new outbreaks of fire, 2,000 of which were concentrated in the Amazon region.
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