International concern over fires in the Amazon mounted on Thursday, with the UN and French President Emmanuel Macron calling for action as Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research reported nearly 2,500 new fires in the past 48 hours.
The Amazon rainforest generates one-fifth of the world’s oxygen but massive swathes of the forest are currently on fire, prompting major international alarm.
The world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, is burning at an unprecedented rate, with politicians and environmental groups blaming each other. Brazil’s Amazon has been described as the lungs of the planet and is vital in helping slow down the pace of global warming. The policies of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsanaro are being blamed, but he says environmental groups are behind the fires.
