Devastating fires throughout the Amazon Rainforest have caused global alarm in recent weeks as world leaders fear that the world’s largest land-based carbon sink could be at the risk of collapsing, intensifying the effects of climate change. The fires that engulfed the Brazilian Amazon last year to global outcry caused an estimated 2,195 people in the region to be hospitalized for respiratory distress driven by inhaling smoke-polluted air. The research has been conducted by Human Rights Watch with Brazil’s Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) and Institute for Health Policy Studies (IEPS).
A report of the survey conducted a few days ago found that this area is already badly affected by coronavirus and now the problem of contaminated air has further aggravated the situation. Last year, the fire of the Amazon forests had plunged the whole world. About 2,195 people were admitted to hospitals due to breathing problems caused by polluted air due to fire. The authors of the research have said that the data for this year shows alarming levels of fire deforestation. The authors also said that the incidents of uncontrolled deforestation fire are ‘poisoning’ the lives of millions of Brazilians, affecting health in the entire Brazilian region of Brazil.
What is the main cause of Amazon fire?
The fires are mainly caused by people clearing land for farming and ranching, then illegally burning the trees. Research authors have warned that this problem will become more severe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has severely affected the Brazilian part of the Amazon, and fire incidents can make matters worse.
Research authors have also criticized the Brazilian President’s policy regarding Amazon
The authors have also criticized Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s policies on the Amazon, 60% of which is in Brazil. “The Bolsonaro administration’s persistent failure to tackle this environmental crisis has immediate consequences for the health of Amazon residents and long-term consequences for global climate change,” said Human Rights Watch’s Brazil director, Maria Laura Canineu. The far-right leader recently called the surge in Amazon fires “a lie.” But figures from his own government show the number of fires in the Brazilian Amazon rose 28 per cent last month from July 2019, to 6,803.
