The sequence may seem paradoxical when we remember that many of these fires are deliberately set by groups seeking to gain access to new agricultural land. But we must remember that the forest burns best when the ground is dry. But the year 2024 It was particularly dry in the Amazon region..
But in the long run, it gets worse: the more we burn the forest, the more the entire area dries up.
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That's because we don't call the Amazon a “rainforest” for nothing. A lot of water accumulates there. So the more trees we cut down, the less moisture there is in the air. The less moisture there is in the air, Say it's raining thereSo the risk of fires spreading is higher – and as a result, there are fewer trees. This is an example of what climate scientists call a feedback loop (Feedback loop): Regional climate change is accelerating due to regional climate change.
According to estimates by Brazilian researchersThe dry season in the southern Amazon, or one-third of the forest, will now last four to five months, or five weeks less than it did 25 years ago.
Indeed, in mid-September 2024, we are Lists Brazil has seen some 200,000 forest fires since the start of the year, more than double the number recorded during the same period last year. This is despite efforts by the new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to crack down on groups that want to expand their agricultural lands, more or less legally. That would represent 418,000 square kilometers of forest burned so far in 2024. According to the European Organization Global Forest Fire Information System.
