Amazon Rainforest of Amazonas state in Brazil is battling a massive wildfire. According to reports, wildfires raging in Amazon rainforest have hit a record number this year. Over 72,843 fires have been detected so far by Brazil's research center INPE. Concerns have been growing over right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's environmental policy. According to ncy, surge marks an 83% increase over same period of 2018.

MOSAiC Expedition: 600 Scientists Gear Up To Spend Next Year Trapped In Ice To Study Climate Change Effects On Arctic Sea

ncy said on Tuesday that this is highest since records began in 2013. Since Thursday, INPE said satellite ims spotted 9,507 new forest fires in country. Most of m have occurred in Brazil's Amazon basin. Brazil is home to world's largest tropical forest seen as vital to countering global warming.

Ims show rrnmost state of Roraima covered in dark smoke. Amazonas declared an emergency in south of state and in its capital Manaus on Aug 9. Acre, on border with Peru, has been on environmental alert since Friday due to fires.

Here are some tweets showing devastating destruction in Amazonas:

RE: Israel's Ambassor And Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Trolled For Hiding ir 'carelessly Edited' Food On Plate While Lunching Over A Football Match

Wildfires have increased in Mato Grosso and Para. two states where Brazil's agricultural frontier has pushed into Amazon basin and spurred deforestation. Wildfires are common in dry season. Even so, fires are deliberately set by farmers illegally deforesting land for cattle ranching.

unprecedented surge in wildfires has occurred since Bolsonaro took office in January. Bolsonaro vowed to develop Amazon region for farming and mining, igring international concern over increased deforestation. When asked about spre of uncontrolled fires, Bolsonaro brushed off criticism, saying it was time of year of "queima" or burn, when farmers use fire to clear land. ncy INPE, however, said a large number of wildfires could t be attributed to dry season or natural phemena alone.

"I used to be called Captain Chainsaw. w I am Nero, setting Amazon aflame. But it is season of queima," he told reporters.

"re is thing abrmal about climate this year or rainfall in Amazon region, which is just a little below aver," said INPE researcher Alberto Setzer.

RE: 39 Kilos Of Cocaine Found With Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's Officer Accompanying Him To G20 Summit

People frequently blame dry season for wildfires in Amazon, but that is t quite accurate, he said.

" dry season creates favorable conditions for use and spre of fire, but starting a fire is work of humans, eir deliberately or by accident," Setzer said.

Bolsonaro recently fired director of INPE after he criticized ncy statistics showing an increase in deforestation in Brazil, saying y were inaccurate. "I am waiting for next set of numbers, that will t be me up numbers. If y are alarming, I will take tice of m in front of you," he told reporters.

(With PTI Inputs)