Amazon's growing fire crisis: a deep dive into the rainforest's struggle

The Amazon is experiencing increasingly frequent and intense megafires, exacerbated by climate change and human activities, leading to significant ecological damage and carbon emissions.

Sibélia Zanon and Luis Patriani report for Mongabay.

In short:

• The Amazon is experiencing unprecedented megafires, with flames reaching more than 10 meters high, signaling a dire environmental crisis.
• These fires, often caused by human activities like crop burning and deforestation, are releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide, exacerbating climate change.
• The 2023 fires, some of the worst in decades, highlight the vulnerability of the Amazon, with scientists warning of a grim future where such fires become the norm.

Key quote:

"When I see the rainforest burning, I know what I’m really seeing is Amazonia dying."

— Erika Berenguer, Brazilian researcher at the University of Oxford

Why this matters:

The Amazon's megafires not only release vast amounts of carbon, worsening global climate change, but also destroy vital ecosystems. This ongoing crisis emphasizes the urgent need for global attention and action to protect one of the planet's most crucial natural resources.

Read: Massive, vital ecosystems that have existed for thousands of years could breakdown in just a few decades.