Brazil's Amazon rainforest is battling its worst fire season in over a decade, with September's blazes reaching levels not seen since 2010. New data reveals 41,463 fire hotspots last month—an alarming spike tied to climate-driven drought and illegal land grabs. 🌍📉
Satellite imagery from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) shows smoke covering vast stretches of South America, while flights over Pará state reveal ‘hundreds of miles of haze’ and rivers shrinking to historic lows. Pará, set to host next year’s UN #COP30 climate summit, recorded its highest September fires since 2007. 😷🏞️
Why It’s Getting Worse: Experts say criminals are exploiting dry conditions to torch forests for profit. ‘They’re banking on selling cleared land later,’ explains Andre Guimaraes of Imazon, an Amazon research group. President Lula has labeled the fires ‘criminal’, with federal police ramping up anti-deforestation operations. 🚨👮♂️
With over 62,000 sq km burned this year alone, the crisis underscores urgent climate challenges. While rains may soon ease the infernos, activists warn the damage could reshape ecosystems for generations. Stay tuned as we track this story. 🌧️🔍
