(Brasilia) Brazil celebrates Amazon Day on Monday, but the largest rainforest on the planet is not celebrating: in just four days, the number of fires observed by satellite is equivalent to more than two thirds of the September 2021 total, after the worst August in twelve years.
Posted at 1:40 p.m.
The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has identified 12,133 fires in the Amazon from 1er to September 4, more than 70% of the figure recorded for the whole month last year.
In September 2021, 16,742 forest fires had been recorded, a figure much lower than the average of 32,110 fires for this month of the year since 1998, when the INPE began to collect this data.
But the figures recorded over the past four days are nonetheless worrying: if the average of more than 3,000 households per day continues, this month of September could be one of the worst in history.
In August, the number of forest fires in the Amazon increased by 18% compared to last year, with no less than 33,116 outbreaks, the highest level since 2010.
For the NGO collective Observatoire du Climat, the Amazon “is under attack from criminals who, encouraged by the government, are causing the greatest wave of forest destruction in nearly two decades”.
Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who is aiming for re-election in less than a month, is accused by environmentalists of neglecting the preservation of the Amazon in favor of agriculture and mining activities.
“This Amazon day will be the last under Bolsonaro or the last at all,” said the Climate Observatory in a statement.
Since Mr. Bolsonaro came to power in January 2019, the average annual deforestation in the Amazon in Brazil has increased by 75% compared to the previous decade.
The head of state, who is left behind by former left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for the October 2 ballot, brushes aside criticism: according to him, Brazil “preserves its forests much better than Europe” .