Brazil: Fires in Amazon rainforest increases by 28%, recorded 6,803 fires in July

Fires in Brazil’s Amazon forest have risen 28 per cent in July as compared to the same period in 2019, government data has shown. As per the latest data released by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, a total of 6,803 fires have been recorded in July,  in comparison, it recorded 5,318 in the same month last year.

906 thousand hectares burnt

It is estimated that over 906 thousand hectares of forest within the Amazon biome have been engulfed by flames since last year. Meanwhile, the new data has worried environmentalists who have said that it could repeat the surge in fires last august when 30,900 fires were receded.

This comes as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has attracted flak for ordering authorities to clear the forest land for economic development. Addressing the concerns on July 16, the Brazilian government banned the burning of Pantanal wetlands and the Amazon forest for four months. In May, the Brazilian president also deployed forces to coordinate action in the forest.

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However, experts have opined that the government's response is not being effective, expressing possibilities that the upcoming dry season would bring more fires than last year. Carlos Nobre, a researcher at the Advanced Studies Institute in the State University of Sao Paulo, said deforestation index also has remained high this year until July, compared to the last couple of years.

Speaking to international media reporters, he added that effectiveness of the government's actions to reduce fires and deforestation ha been low  Speaking to AP later, Carlos Rittl, a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Germany,revealed, "The tendency is that this will be a more dry year than 2019 and this makes it easier for the fire to spread." 

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