The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has recorded more than 74,000 fires so far this year – an 84 per cent increase on the same period in 2018. It’s the highest number since records began in 2013.
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Wildfires in the Amazon are not entirely uncommon, the way they are spreading is driving concern.
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Drought can be a factor in rainforest fires, INPE researchers have said there is nothing abnormal about the climate or rainfall amounts in the Amazon this year.
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Data from INPE suggests that since
he [Präsident Bolsonaro] took power in January, deforestation numbers have soared.
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Bolsonaro suggested that the spread of fires was merely the typical time of year for “queimada,” or burn, when farmers usually clear land.
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"Over the past six months, Bolsonaro and his environment minister have been devoting themselves to the dismantling of the Brazilian environment governance and neutralizing regulatory bodies,"