The Amazon is burning at an alarming rate as tens of thousands of fires lay waste to the world’s largest tropical rainforest.
Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research said there have been 74,155 fires in the Amazon this year as of Tuesday, according to its satellite data: an 84% increase from the same period last year.
The Amazon is often called “the lungs of the world,” absorbing greenhouse gases that would otherwise harm the planet. It also is home to a number of indigenous people who rely on the forest’s resources.
Here’s why it’s on fire and why it’s become such a big problem.
Why is the Amazon on fire?
People who want to clear land in the Amazon for business prospects are cutting down portions of the forest, leaving them out to dry and setting them on fire. With the trees out of the way, they have room to grow agriculture or to raise cattle.
This practice is illegal but is not being monitored by Brazil’s government, according to Nigel Sizer, chief program officer of Rainforest Alliance. Not only is the government turning the other way, President Jair Bolsonaro is encouraging the practice, Sizer said.
“With confidence, we can say that a lot of that is illegal and is…
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