2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires: Difference between revisions

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==Background==
==Background==
The [[Amazon River basin]], which is about the size of [[Australia]], is covered in a dense vegetation including 400 billion trees. The dense moisture-filled forest "exhales a fifth of the oxygen" on the planet; it stores carbon that is centuries old, and "deflects and consumes an unknown but significant amount of solar heat."<ref name="theintercept_Zaitchik_20190706">{{Cite news| title = In Bolsonaro’s Brazil, a Showdown Over Amazon Rainforest |first=Alexander |last=Zaitchik|access-date=August 21, 2019 |date=July 6, 2019| url = https://theintercept.com/2019/07/06/brazil-amazon-rainforest-indigenous-conservation-agribusiness-ranching/}}</ref> The Amazon rainforest "fuels planet-scale systems" including [[atmospheric river]]s as 20 percent of the world's fresh water passes through cycles in this rainforest.<ref name="theintercept_Zaitchik_20190706">{{Cite news| title = In Bolsonaro’s Brazil, a Showdown Over Amazon Rainforest |first=Alexander |last=Zaitchik|access-date=August 21, 2019 |date=July 6, 2019| url = https://theintercept.com/2019/07/06/brazil-amazon-rainforest-indigenous-conservation-agribusiness-ranching/}}</ref> Since the 1970s, Brazil has cut and burned about 20 percent of the forest representing {{convert|300,000|sqmi|km2|0}}—which is larger than Texas.<ref name="theintercept_Zaitchik_20190706"/> Two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest lies within Brazil's borders.<ref name="theintercept_Zaitchik_20190706"/>
The [[Amazon River basin]], which is about the size of [[Australia]], is covered in a dense vegetation including 400 billion trees. Since the 1970s, Brazil has cut and burned about 20 percent of the forest representing {{convert|300,000|sqmi|km2|0}}—which is larger than Texas.<ref name="theintercept_Zaitchik_20190706"/> Two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest lies within Brazil's borders.<ref name="theintercept_Zaitchik_20190706"/>


In 2015, the [[National Institute for Space Research]] (INPE) created Terra Brasilis project which gets its data from the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (DETER) satellite alert system, which publishes its monthly and daily data on the regularly updated Brazilian Environmental Institute government website.<ref name="theguardian_Phillips_20190802">{{Cite news| issn = 0261-3077| last = Phillips| first = Dom| title = Brazil space institute director sacked in Amazon deforestation row| work = The Guardian| accessdate = 2019-08-22| date = 2019-08-02| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/02/brazil-space-institute-director-sacked-in-amazon-deforestation-row}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0261-3077| last = Watts| first = Jonathan| title = Jair Bolsonaro claims without evidence that NGOs are setting fires in Amazon rainforest| work = The Guardian| accessdate = 2019-08-22| date = 2019-08-21| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/21/jair-bolsonaro-accuses-ngos-setting-fire-amazon-rainforest}}</ref> DETER supports "the monitoring and control of deforestation and forest degradation".<ref name="globo_20190703">{{Cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/natureza/noticia/2019/07/03/desmatamento-na-amazonia-em-junho-e-88percent-maior-do-que-no-mesmo-periodo-de-2018.ghtml|title=Desmatamento na Amazônia em junho é 88% maior do que no mesmo período de 2018|last=Carolina Moreno|first=Ana|date=July 3, 2019|website=Natureza|publisher=Globo|language=pt-br|access-date=2019-08-22}}</ref>
In 2015, the [[National Institute for Space Research]] (INPE) created Terra Brasilis project which gets its data from the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (DETER) satellite alert system, which publishes its monthly and daily data on the regularly updated Brazilian Environmental Institute government website.<ref name="theguardian_Phillips_20190802">{{Cite news| issn = 0261-3077| last = Phillips| first = Dom| title = Brazil space institute director sacked in Amazon deforestation row| work = The Guardian| accessdate = 2019-08-22| date = 2019-08-02| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/02/brazil-space-institute-director-sacked-in-amazon-deforestation-row}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0261-3077| last = Watts| first = Jonathan| title = Jair Bolsonaro claims without evidence that NGOs are setting fires in Amazon rainforest| work = The Guardian| accessdate = 2019-08-22| date = 2019-08-21| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/21/jair-bolsonaro-accuses-ngos-setting-fire-amazon-rainforest}}</ref> DETER supports "the monitoring and control of deforestation and forest degradation".<ref name="globo_20190703">{{Cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/natureza/noticia/2019/07/03/desmatamento-na-amazonia-em-junho-e-88percent-maior-do-que-no-mesmo-periodo-de-2018.ghtml|title=Desmatamento na Amazônia em junho é 88% maior do que no mesmo período de 2018|last=Carolina Moreno|first=Ana|date=July 3, 2019|website=Natureza|publisher=Globo|language=pt-br|access-date=2019-08-22}}</ref>

Revision as of 21:05, 22 August 2019

2019 Brazil wildfires
VIIRS scan of the Amazon basin on August 20, 2019, depicting several wildfires and the smoke produced
Date(s)January 2019 to present
LocationBrazil
Impacts
Deaths2[1]

There were at least 74,155 wildfires in Brazil from January to August 2019, which represents the highest number of wildfires since Brazil began to collect data in 2013, according to Brazil's space agency, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE),[2] which uses satellites to monitor fires.[3]

Almost two-thirds of the Amazon basin lies within Brazil's borders[4] and over half the wildfires occurred in the Amazon rainforest,[2][5][6][7] the world's largest rainforest which is considered to be "vital to countering global warming."[8][9]

There are fires burning in the rainforest in the four Brazilian Amazonian states Amazonas, Rondonia, Mato Grosso and Pará. At least 39,194 fires have been detected in Amazonas, which is the largest state in Brazil, and which has the "largest standing tracts of unbroken rainforest" in the world. A state of emergency was declared by Amazonas by August 11.[8][9]

Background

The Amazon River basin, which is about the size of Australia, is covered in a dense vegetation including 400 billion trees. Since the 1970s, Brazil has cut and burned about 20 percent of the forest representing 300,000 square miles (776,996 km2)—which is larger than Texas.[4] Two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest lies within Brazil's borders.[4]

In 2015, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) created Terra Brasilis project which gets its data from the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (DETER) satellite alert system, which publishes its monthly and daily data on the regularly updated Brazilian Environmental Institute government website.[10][11] DETER supports "the monitoring and control of deforestation and forest degradation".[12]

By August 11, Amazonas had declared a state of emergency.[13] NASA imagery showed that by August 13, smoke from the fires was visible from space.[14]

Cause

INPE satellite imagery of a 70-by-70 mile area along the Purus River between Canutama and Lábrea in the state of Amazonas, taken on August 16, 2019, showing several plumes of smoke from wildfires, including areas that have been deforested

Wildfires occur naturally during the dry season in July and August.[8] According to Euronews, wildfires have increased as the agricultural sector has "pushed into the Amazon basin and spurred deforestation".[8] Some fires may occur by farmers who wish to legally or illegally deforest land for cattle ranching. In August, local farmers in the Amazonian state of Pará, put an ad in the local newspaper about a queimada or "Day of Fire" in August.[3][15] Shortly after that, there was an increase in the number of fires.[3] In recent years, "land-grabbers" (grileiros) have been illegally cutting deep into the forest in "Brazil's Indigenous territories and other protected forests throughout the Amazon". Since the October election, they have been cutting in the land of the previously isolated Apurinã in Amazonas, where the the "world's largest standing tracts of unbroken rainforest" are found.[4]

According to conservationists, President Jair Bolsonaro, who assumed office in January 2019, has "encouraged loggers and farmers to clear the land", resulting in an accelerated deforestation of the Amazon rainforest,[2] which had increased by 88% in June as compared to June 2018, according to INPE.[12][16]

Wildfires

INPE reported on August 20, that it had detected "39,194 fires in the world's largest rainforest" since January.[3] This represented a 77-percent increase in the number of fires from the same time period in 2018.[3] NASA reported an increase in wildfires in Amazonas and Rondonia and a decrease in Mato Grosso and Pará.[17] At least 74,155 fires have been detected in all of Brazil,[18] which represents a 84-percent increase from the same period in 2018.[19]

Impact

The smoke plume from the fires in Rondônia and Amazonas caused the sky to darken over the largest city in Brazil, São Paulo—which is almost 1,700 miles (2,700 km) away. São Paulo was so dark that it appeared to be nighttime at 2 pm.[20][9][2]

Response

According to a Vox article, of all the wildfires in 2019—including those in Greenland, and Siberia—the wildfires in the Amazon rainforest are the most "alarming".[9]

Reactions

In response to INPE reports that warned of the high rates of deforestation based on satellite data, Bolsonaro fired the INPE director, Ricardo Galvão, on August 2.[10][21][22] On 21 August Boslonaro claimed that the fires had been deliberately started by environmental NGOs, although he provided no evidence to back up the accusation.[23]

NGOs like WWF Brasil, the Greenpeace through senior forest strategist Paulo Addario and Carlos Bocuhy, president of the Brazilian Institute of Environmental Protection, countered Bolsonaro's claims.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Casal morre abraçado ao tentar fugir de queimada em RO" [Couple die hugged while trying to escape burnt out RO] (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d "'Record number of fires' in Brazilian rainforest". BBC News Online. BBC Online. BBC. August 21, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e Andreoni, Manuela; Hauser, Christine (August 21, 2019). "Fires in Amazon Rain Forest Have Surged This Year". The New York Times. Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference theintercept_Zaitchik_20190706 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Yeung, Jessie; Alvarado, Abel (August 21, 2019). "Brazil's Amazon rainforest is burning at a record rate". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  6. ^ "Record-breaking number of fires burn in Brazil's Amazon". CNBC. NBCUniversal. August 21, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  7. ^ Yeung, Jessie; Alvarado, Abel (August 21, 2019). "Brazil's Amazon rainforest is burning at a record rate". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d Paraguassu, Lisandra (August 20, 2019). "Amazon burning: Brazil reports record forest fires". Euronews. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d Irfan, Umair (August 20, 2019). "Amazon rainforest fire: Forests in Brazil, Greenland, and Siberia are burning". Vox. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Phillips, Dom (August 2, 2019). "Brazil space institute director sacked in Amazon deforestation row". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Watts, Jonathan (August 21, 2019). "Jair Bolsonaro claims without evidence that NGOs are setting fires in Amazon rainforest". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Carolina Moreno, Ana (July 3, 2019). "Desmatamento na Amazônia em junho é 88% maior do que no mesmo período de 2018". Natureza (in Brazilian Portuguese). Globo. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  13. ^ Cereceda, Rafael (August 11, 2019). "Amazonas state declares state of emergency over rising forest fires". euronews. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  14. ^ "Fires in Brazil". NASA. August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  15. ^ "Dia do Fogo- Produtores planejam data para queimada na região" [Day of Fire- Producers plan date for burning in the region]. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "London climate change protesters daub Brazilian embassy blood red". Reuters. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  17. ^ Gibbens, Sarah (August 21, 2019). "Brazil's Amazon is burning in historic wildfires—and deforestation is to blame". National Geographic. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  18. ^ "A Record Number of Fires Are Currently Burning Across the Amazon Rainforest". Time. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  19. ^ Pearson, Samantha; Magalhaes, Luciana (August 21, 2019). "Fires Destroy Amazon Rainforest, Blanketing Brazilian Cities in Smog". WSJ. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  20. ^ Garrand, Danielle (August 20, 2019). "Parts of the Amazon rainforest are on fire — and smoke can be spotted from space". cbsnews.com. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  21. ^ Watts, Jonathan (August 21, 2019). "Jair Bolsonaro claims without evidence that NGOs are setting fires in Amazon rainforest". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  22. ^ Londoño, Ernesto (August 2, 2019). "Bolsonaro Fires Head of Agency Tracking Amazon Deforestation in Brazil". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  23. ^ Watts, Jonathan (August 21, 2019). "Jair Bolsonaro claims NGOs behind Amazon forest fire surge – but provides no evidence". The Guardian. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  24. ^ "ONGs rebatem fala de Bolsonaro sobre queimadas" [NGOs contered Bolsonaro's claims] (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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