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Mighty columns of smoke sweep across the state of Mato Grosso
Photo: Andre Penner / AP
Now it has even hit the fire supervisors themselves: a fire broke out this week on the premises of the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (Inpe) in the community of Cachoeira Paulista.
On Tuesday, the site in the state of São Paulo had to be evacuated because the forest fire got out of hand.
The cause of the fire has not yet been clarified.
One could describe the fire on the authority premises as prophetic.
Because on Thursday, the Inpe reported that the number of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in September rose again drastically compared to the same month last year.
Analysis of satellite images revealed 32,017 fires in the Amazon region in September.
In the same month last year there were 19,925 fires.
This corresponds to an increase of 61 percent.
In the first nine months of this year, the total number of fires is reported to have increased by 14 percent compared to the same period last year.
Forest fires are often triggered by illegal clearing.
Environmentalists have long warned that 2020 could be the most destructive year for the largest rainforest on earth.
You blame the politics of right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for this.
The destruction of the Amazon forest by fire has increased dramatically since he began his tenure in January 2019.
Highest value in the Pantanal since records began
The areas destroyed by the fires are then often used for animal husbandry and arable farming.
This year, gigantic fires also raged in the Brazilian Pantanal swamp with its rich flora and fauna.
There is a great drought there.
According to Inpe, 8106 fires were counted in the Pantanal in September.
That was the highest value since records began in 1998.
Bolsonaro doubts man's responsibility for climate change.
He drastically cut the financial and human resources for environmental protection.
It was only on Monday that his government overturned environmental protection regulations for the Brazilian Atlantic coast.
Environmentalists fear that previously protected mangrove forests and dune landscapes could now be built on.
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joe / AFP
