Wildfires have been ravaging uncontrollably in the Brazilian Amazon region, which is home to 10% of Earth’s animal species that live in the world’s largest tropical forest which is vital to countering global warming. These blazes have resulted in widespread outrage and alarm among lawmakers and environmental activists, as these fires are destroying ecosystems, displacing wildlife, and jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions. The number of raging infernos recorded in the Amazon in 2019 has surged by 85% from January to August compared to the same period in 2018. According to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, forest is intentionally set on fire by ranchers and farmers to use land for cattle ranching and agriculture. Illegal land-grabbers burn down entire villages, killing indigenous people so they can raise the value of the seized land cleared to be used for farmland. Brazil has been the world’s largest exporter of beef, with nearly 20% of global beef exports in 2018.
But, how does the fire spread? While the Amazon forest is typically wet and humid, wildfires are often deliberately ignited to clear land for cattle ranching, farming, and logging, which exacerbates by the dry season. Fire spreads quickly due to high temperatures and low humidity. Deforestation has rapidly accelerated since Brazilian President Bolsonaro took over in January 2019, thanks to his policies of relaxed enforcement of laws against deforestation and blatant prioritisation of business interests in mining and farming in the Amazon.
Effects of wildfire damage to the Amazon go far beyond Brazil. The Amazon spans eight countries (Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) and is often referred to as “the planet’s lungs,” as it produces 20% of Earth’s oxygen. Amazon forest is one of the largest ecosystem carbon pools on Earth that stores around 150–200 Pg C (1 Pg=1012 kg) in living biomass and soils, which constitutes 25% of the world’s carbon sink, according to research published in Science in 2011. Fires pump pollutants including particulate matter and dangerous levels of toxic gases pose serious health threat to the indigenous inhabitants. A lot of animals will die, from flames, heat from the flames, or smoke inhalation. The entire ecosystem of the burning sections of rainforest gets altered. The black smoke is spreading thousands of miles disrupting weather in nearby cities, contaminating water reservoirs and plunging São Paulo into darkness.
There is a clear link between the health of the Amazon forest and the health of the planet. The rain forests which hold 90 billion to 140 billion metric tons of carbon help stabilize local and global climate. The Amazon also pumps about 7 trillion tonnes of water per year into the atmosphere and its forests recycle 50%-75% of annual rainfall back into the atmosphere. A published study concludes that 40% of Amazon deforestation would have the capability of reducing rainfall over 2000 miles away. So the Amazon is a critically important part of the world not just for animals and plants and the people that live there but to the Earth’s climate.
