Latest News

Brazil's Amazon rainforest fires in August reach 14-year high

The number of fires in Brazil's Amazon rainforest region for the month of August rose to the highest level considering that 2010, government data revealed on Sunday, after a record dry spell that has been plaguing the biome.

Last year's rains came late and were weaker than usual due to the fact that a weather pattern, called El Nino, was supercharged by environment change, leaving the jungle particularly vulnerable to this year's fires.

Satellites found 38,266 fire hotspots in the Amazon in August, more than double compared to the previous year and the largest number for that month because 2010, information from Brazil's. National Institute for Space Research Study (Inpe) revealed.

The August information reaching a 14-year high comes after last. month's fire hotspots in the region surged to a two-decade high.

While the data is the fastest indicator of the state of. fires in the region, which often peak between August and. September, it does not show the strength.

Fires in the naturally damp and damp biome often start on. cattle ranches where residents are transforming the jungle into. pastures for cattle ranching.

Warmer air and drier plant life have actually produced conditions. where fires can spread more rapidly along with burn more. intensely and for longer. Logging has actually likewise lowered the. jungle's capability to produce rain and humidity.

Helga Correa, a conservation expert at WWF-Brasil, stated. in an initial assessment of the August data last week that the. fires were driven by a mix of weather condition, climate change. and human actions.

The region where we identified concentrated smoke in August. accompanies the so-called Arch of Deforestation, which. includes the north of Rondonia, the south of Amazonas and the. southwest of Para, she stated.

This indicates that, in addition to environment modification and El. Nino, modifications in land use produced by human beings play a main function. in the boost in fires, she said.

(source: Reuters)