Amazon rainforest fires 2019
GEORGIA CHAMBERS - Tuesday 27 August, 2019
Thousands of new fires have been started ∈ the Amazon rainforest over the weekend as blazes continue to devastate huge
parts of the region. The National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which monitors deforestation ∈Brazil, said some 1,113
new fires were ignited across Saturday and Sunday. Video footage of the fires has gone viral on social media over the past few
weeks, while millions fear the impact the ongoing destruction of the world’s largest rainforest may have on the climate change
[05] crisis. According to the INPE, there have been 72,843 fires ∈Brazil this year, with more than half ∈ the Amazon region – an
increase of more than 80 per cent compared with the previous year. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his environmental
policies have come under scrutiny, with critics saying he favours development over conservation.
NASA's Aqua satellite shows several fires burning ∈ the Brazilian states of Amazonas. The European Union Earth Observation
Program’s Sentinel satellites also captured images of “significant amounts of smoke” over Amazonas, Rondonia and other
[10] areas.
The scale of the fires is so huge that they can be seen from , NASA has said. According to the INPE, more than 1 ½
football fields of Amazon rainforest are being destroyed every minute of every day. “This is without question one of only two
times that there have been fires like this ∈ the Amazon,” ecologist Thomas Lovejoy told National Geographic. “There’s no
question that it’s a consequence of the recent uptick ∈ deforestation.”
[15] The fires have caused mass devastation across the Amazonian region. The Amazon rainforest is considered vital ∈ the slowing
of global warming, thanks to its plethora of habitable species of fauna and flora. It generates about 20 per cent of the world’s
oxygen and 10 per cent of the world’s known biodiversity. Often referred to as “the lungs of the planet,” it plays a significant
role ∈ regulating the climate. This means that the destruction of the Amazon rainforest would have a devastating impact on
everything from the air we breathe to the water we drink. The fires are also causing millions of people indigenous to the Amazon
[20] to be displaced. An estimated 500 tribes live within the Amazon.
According to NASA, fires ∈ the Amazonian area often occur during the dry season, which typically starts around July and
August. Peak “activity” is said to happen by early September and ceases by mid-November. Blazes are also started deliberately
by a way of deforestation – people clearing out the land for farming or ranches. The INPE has now ruled out natural phenomena
being responsible for the surge ∈ forest fires. Alberto Setzer, a senior scientist at INPE, told CNN that he believes 99% of the
[25] fires result ________human actions “either ______ purpose or by accident.”
(Retrieved and adapted from: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/amazon-rainforest-fire-2019-cause-jair-bolsonaro-a4222031.html. Access on September 1st, 2019)
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