Amazon Fire – Few Facts

The Amazon rainforest, which provides around 20% of the world's oxygen, has been ablaze for weeks now

This fire has undoubtedly affected the entire of the continent – Brazil and its neighbors.   Although about 60 percent of the Amazon is in Brazil, the vast forest also takes in parts of eight other countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

1.    On August 19, 2019 , the smoke grew so thick it cast the city of Sao Paulo, which lies more than 1,000 miles away, into daytime darkness.

2.    Amazon fires happens every year.

3.    Scientists suggest that these fire are caused entirely by human activity. With deforestation at a record high, it was obvious that a fire would follow. 

4.Brazil’s space agency said this week that more than 72,000 fires had broken out across the Amazon rainforest since the start of the year, imperiling one of the planet’s last refuges of biodiversity. 

5.    The smoke generated covers an approximate area of 1.2 square miles!

6.    The fires burnt at record rate,  'one Football pitch' of Amazon forest lost every minute

The Amazon rainforest is, like so many other things on our planet, part of a connected system. The 2019 fires are devastating