Roughly half the size of the United States, Brazil’s Earth’s Amazon rainforest is often referred to as the planet’s lungs, producing 20% of all oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere. The Amazon is considered vital in slowing global warming, and it is home to uncountable species of fauna and flora.
Fires are now raging at a record rate in the Amazon rainforest, and scientists warn that it could strike a devastating blow to the fight against climate change.
The fires are burning at the highest rate since Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) began tracking them in 2013. There have been 72,843 fires in Brazil so far this year, with more than half in the Amazon region, INPE said. That’s more than an 80% increase compared with the same period last year.