There have been more the 9,500 new fires spotted in The Amazon. The fires are burning through many states in Brazil which are inhabited with human life. Being the largest rainforest in the world fires due happen from time to time, but have never been to this extent. They are largest ever fires recorded in the Amazon.

The cause of these fires were said to be the dry weather, wind and heat but a scientist for the Ministry of Science of Brazil (the INPE) said otherwise. Alberto Setzer, a senior scientist, remarked that ”99 percent of the fires are a result of human actions either on purpose or by accident”. Many other scientists have said that these fires do not seem to be caused by normal weather.

Not only is the land being decimated, but people are losing homes. A tribe leader told Jonathan Mazower, a spokesman for Survival International, how much the forest means to the people living in the Amazon as they are “ dependent on their forests for everything, and have managed and looked after them for millennia”.  

Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil, sent out 44,000 troops to stop the flames from spreading. Yet despite these efforts the forest is still burning. People from Brazil and around the world are trying to raise awareness on the issue to make everyone aware of what is happening and to try to make the government meet the fires with more force as well as an increased level of seriousness the situation requires.