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  • 2019-08-21 (xsd:date)
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  • Was the Amazon Rainforest on Fire in August 2019? (en)
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  • In August 2019, a photograph supposedly showing smoke billowing up from a section of the Amazon rainforest went viral on social media along with the claim that the tropical jungle had been burning for weeks: The news came as a shock to some. The Amazon is regarded as one of the world's most important ecosystems, sometimes referred to as the lungs of the world. Some viewers were surprised that they encountered this news for the first time on social media, as opposed to the front page of a newspaper or a breaking news alert on a cable network. While the message in the above-displayed tweet is largely accurate, it's also missing a bit of context. For instance, some viewers may think that the Amazon has never seen a forest fire. But that isn't the case. Wildfires often occur during drier summer months. Farmers may also intentionally set fires (often illegally) in order to clear land. In fact, neither of the photographs displayed in this viral tweet was taken in 2019. The image on the left shows a fire from 1989, and the image on the right has been online since at least 2012. A number of other outdated and unrelated photographs have also been circulated as if they depicted the 2019 fires. What was notable in mid-2019 was the size and number of fires. Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reported that there had been more than 72,000 fires in Brazil in 2019, an 80% increase compared to the same period from 2018. Here's an excerpt from a CNN report and a graph of INPE's data from the BBC: While Brazil's National Institute for Space Research recorded its highest rate of fires in Brazil since it started recording in 2013, NASA found that the total fire activity in the Amazon basin was actually slightly below average when compared to the last 15 years: The Amazon rainforest fires were largely blamed on two things: loosened environmental restrictions (leading to deforestation) and global warming. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted that the Amazon was once thought to be fire-resistant thanks to the wetness of the area, but regional deforestation and anthropogenic climate change have increased the frequency of droughts that were once considered once-in-a-century events: Conservationists also reported the increase in fires may have been due to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's environmental policies. Bolsonaro, who took office in January 2019, campaigned on a promise to roll back environmental protections in order to develop the region for farming and mining: Bolsonaro, however, dismissed reports about an increase of fires in the Amazon rainforest and blamed the recent forest fires on the season of the queimada. Bolsonaro told Reuters: I used to be called Captain Chainsaw. Now I am Nero, setting the Amazon aflame. (en)
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