Amazon Forest Fire: Smoke Blankets Sao Paulo

In a series of wildfire incidents that have come to light lately, the Amazon Rainforests are the latest victim. The fire that started in the state of Rondonia near Bolivia covered the city of Sao Paulo in complete darkness in the middle of the day on August 19, 2019. The Rondonia Natural Reserve has been burning for more than two weeks now. These forest fires are majorly taking place in the northern part of Brazil and have pushed the government to declare emergency in the state of Amazonas. NASA has revealed satellite images of the smoke that has engulfed most parts of Amazonas, Rondonia, Para and Mato Grosso

Though such incidents of wildfire are rare in the Amazon region, they generally do increase during the dry months of July and August as it is considered to be an ideal method for clearing land for crops. So far the blaze has burnt nearly 1000 hectares of land. The humidity in the Amazon forests has kept the number of forest fire incidents as low as possible but deforestation and drought could make this a common phenomenon. The massive destruction has raised a number of health concerns.

According to reports by Reuter, INPE (National Institute for Space Research), which is the country’s space agency said that the satellite images have detected nearly 9,507 fires in the region since last week and more than 72,000 wildfires have been detected since January.  Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been slammed recently as the Amazon forests witnessed major damage after he took to office but he has brushed all criticism stating ‘this is the season of burn’, suggest some reports.