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In Pictures: Fires in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest

Experts warn this year’s dry season, which is just getting started, could see even more fires.

A firefighter attempts to control a blaze in a tract of the Amazon jungle in Apui, Amazonas state. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
A firefighter attempts to control a blaze in a tract of the Amazon jungle in Apui, Amazonas state. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
12 Aug 2020
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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said it is a “lie” that fires are ravaging the Amazon rainforest, despite data from his own government showing the number of blazes is rising.

The far-right leader has faced international condemnation for presiding over huge fires and rising deforestation in the Amazon – criticism he took issue with in a speech to a video conference of countries that share the world’s biggest rainforest.

“Tropical rainforest doesn’t catch fire. So this story that the Amazon is burning is a lie and we have to fight it with real numbers,” he said on Tuesday.

Bolsonaro last year similarly denied a spike in fires that provoked a global outcry, trading barbs with French President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders.

Fires in Brazil’s Amazon for the month of August hit a nine-year high in 2019 and this month so far looks even worse. More than 10,000 fires have been recorded in the first 10 days of August, up 17 percent from the same period a year ago, according to data from the country’s national space research agency Inpe.

Experts say the fires are typically not sparked naturally, but set by humans to clear land illegally for farming and grazing.

Last year, huge fires devastated the Amazon from May to October, sending a thick haze of black smoke to Sao Paulo, thousands of kilometres away.

The fires triggered worldwide alarm over a forest seen as vital to curbing climate change.

Experts warn this year’s dry season, which is just getting started, could see even more fires.

Foreign pressure is mounting on Brazil to protect the world’s largest rainforest, an ecosystem vital to preserving climate change because of the vast amount of carbon dioxide that it absorbs.

Global investors managing more than $2 trillion have threatened to pull their investments out of Brazil’s meatpackers, grains traders and government bonds if Bolsonaro’s administration does not take action on Amazon destruction.

Experts say the fires are typically not sparked naturally, but set by humans to clear land illegally for farming and grazing. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
Experts say the fires are typically not sparked naturally, but set by humans to clear land illegally for farming and grazing. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
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A firefighter holds a dead anteater. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
A firefighter holds a dead anteater. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
A man lights a fire to create a firebreak to stop the progress of a blaze. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
A man lights a fire to create a firebreak to stop the progress of a blaze. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
An aerial view showing smoke billowing from a part of the Amazon rainforest reserve north of Sinop, in Mato Grosso state. [Florian Plaucheur/AFP]
An aerial view showing smoke billowing from a part of the Amazon rainforest reserve north of Sinop, in Mato Grosso state. [Florian Plaucheur/AFP]
A family rides along a paved dirt road in an area scorched by fires near Labrea, Amazonas state. According to the National Institute for Space Research, fires in the Brazilian Amazon increased 28 percent in July from a year ago. Environmentalists have expressed concern at the rise because August traditionally marks the beginning of the fire season in the region. [Edmar Barros/AP Photo]
A family rides along a paved dirt road in an area scorched by fires near Labrea, Amazonas state. According to the National Institute for Space Research, fires in the Brazilian Amazon increased 28 percent in July from a year ago. Environmentalists have expressed concern at the rise because August traditionally marks the beginning of the fire season in the region. [Edmar Barros/AP Photo]
A farm worker tries to put out a fire spreading towards their land north of Sinop, in Mato Grosso state. [Carl De Souza/AFP]
A farm worker tries to put out a fire spreading towards their land north of Sinop, in Mato Grosso state. [Carl De Souza/AFP]
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A fire brigade member holds a dead snake near Apui. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
A fire brigade member holds a dead snake near Apui. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
Last year's fires triggered worldwide alarm over a forest seen as vital to curbing climate change. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
Last year's fires triggered worldwide alarm over a forest seen as vital to curbing climate change. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
A firefighter drinks water during a break from attempting to control a fire in a tract of the Amazon jungle. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]
A firefighter drinks water during a break from attempting to control a fire in a tract of the Amazon jungle. [Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters]

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