This is the most severe drought in almost half a century. It is worsening the “ pandemic ” fires that have been going on for months, according to the Brazilian president. Lula da Silva visited the state of Amazonas, the most severely affected, on Tuesday, September 10, and announced measures.
It is not new, but it is getting worse: Brazil is drying up, burning and suffocating over a large part of its surface area.
With more than 5,000 active fires as of Tuesday, September 10, it alone accounts for 76% of the fires currently burning in all of South America, according to data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Since the beginning of the year, some 6.7 million hectares have burned in the Brazilian Amazon, or 1.6% of the world’s largest tropical forest, according to official figures. These fires release clouds of smoke that are carried by the winds to neighboring countries and pollute the ambient air. São Paulo, the largest city in Latin America located in the southeast of the country, has topped the ranking of the most polluted metropolises in the world for the second consecutive day, according to the Swiss company IQAir, which specializes in monitoring air quality.
Also readAmazon forest fires: residents of Rondonia, Brazil, suffocate in smoke
Even more isolated communities
- RFI
