Fires in Brazil's Amazon up 28% in July

Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Sunday warned about the Amazon's number of forest fires, which has increased 28 percent in July, in comparison to the 2019's same period. 

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Over 6,800 fires were recorded in the Amazon last month, compared to 5,318 in the same month of 2019.

About 1,000 fires were registered just on July 30, 2020,  the highest single-day number since 2005. 

Environmentalists are worried about this situation. “We expect that August will be a difficult month, and September will be even worse,” Brazil’s Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) science director Ane Alencar assured.

Activists are pointing the finger at president Jair Bolsonaro who has encouraged agricultural and mining activities in the region. According to him, this could lift the country out of poverty. 

In July, and after pressure from environmental activists and citizens,  Bolsonaro banned burning in the Amazon for four months.

''We can conclude that the effectiveness of the government actions to reduce fires and deforestation is low,'' said  Carlos Nobre, a researcher at the Advanced Studies Institute in the State University of Sao Paulo.

According to scientists, the rainforest is essential in the fight against climate warming since it absorbs greenhouse gases.