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Amazon fire: Rainforest burning at record rate, space agency warn

Wildfires raging in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest have hit a record number this year, according to new data from the country’s space research agency.

The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) have detected 72,843 fires in 2019, a surge of 83 percent over the same period in 2018.

It comes weeks after President Jair Bolsonaro fired the head of the agency amid rows over its deforestation data.

In one week, Inpe satellite images have spotted 9,507 new forest fires in the country, mostly in the Amazon basin.

Strong winds carried smoke from the fires more than 1,700 miles on Monday and caused an hour-long blackout in the city of Sao Paulo.

An aerial view of a tract of Amazon jungle burning. (REUTERS)
An aerial view of a tract of Amazon jungle burning. (REUTERS)

Images show the northernmost state of Roraima covered in dark smoke.

Earlier this month, Amazonas declared an emergency in the south of the state and in its capital Manaus.

Acre, on the border with Peru, has been on environmental alert since Friday due to the fires.

Wildfires have also increased in Mato Grosso and Para, two states where Brazil's agricultural industry has pushed into the Amazon basin and spurred deforestation.

Several fires burning in the Brazilian states of Amazonas. (EPA)
Several fires burning in the Brazilian states of Amazonas. (EPA)

The Amazon basin is home to the world’s largest tropical forest, a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.

Wildfires are common in the dry season, but are also deliberately set by farmers illegally deforesting land for cattle ranching.

The unprecedented surge in wildfires has occurred since Mr Bolsonaro took office in January vowing to develop the Amazon region for farming and mining, ignoring international concern over increased deforestation.

Asked about the spread of uncontrolled fires, Mr Bolsonaro brushed off criticism, saying it was the time of the year of the "queimada" or burn, when farmers use fire to clear land.

"I used to be called Captain Chainsaw. Now I am Nero, setting the Amazon aflame. But it is the season of the queimada," he told reporters.

A record number of fires have been recorded in the Amazon this year. (REUTERS)
A record number of fires have been recorded in the Amazon this year. (REUTERS)

Inpe said the large number of wildfires could not be attributed to the dry season or natural phenomena alone.

"There is nothing abnormal about the climate this year or the rainfall in the Amazon region, which is just a little below average," Inpe researcher Alberto Setzer said.

People frequently blame the dry season for the wildfires in the Amazon, but that is not quite accurate, he said.

"The dry season creates the favourable conditions for the use and spread of fire, but starting a fire is the work of humans, either deliberately or by accident," Mr Setzer said.

Mr Bolsonaro recently fired the director of INPE after he criticized agency statistics showing an increase in deforestation in Brazil, saying they were inaccurate.

"I am waiting for the next set of numbers, that will not be made up numbers. If they are alarming, I will take notice of them in front of you," he told reporters.