The Amazon, for the second consecutive year, had a June with the highest number of fires since 2007. There were 2,308 outbreaks of fire in the biome, slightly above the 2,248 outbreaks recorded in June last year, an increase of almost 3%. The data are from the Queimadas Program, from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), updated daily.
Such high numbers bring 2021 closer to the scenarios of the 2000s, in which the Amazon was experiencing great devastation and record numbers of fires. In 2007, for example, there were 3,519 fires registered in the biome, far from the record for the month: 9,179 outbreaks in 2004.
The coming months are critical for the region. With the beginning of the driest season in the biome, fires increase, which are directly linked to the deforestation process. It is at this moment that the forest felled in previous moments (even last year, in some cases) is burned. Therefore, there are usually high numbers of fires, especially between August and September.
In 2019, the fire situation was so critical, especially in August, that an international environmental image crisis began, criticizing the current management model for the Amazon.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon