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August 27, 2019

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The Amazon rainforest has been on fire for the past month, with Brazil declaring a state of emergency in the region. But over the weekend, Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, declined $20 million in aid from G7 world leaders.

The number of fires in Brazil this year is the highest on record since 2013 and is up by 85% from last year alone, CNN reported. So far this year, more than 80,000 fires in the country have been detected by Brazil's space research center, INPE.

There are so many fires burning right now, that the smoke is visible from space. European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano captured images of the smoke from the International Space Station on Monday. Parmitano said the haze is so widespread, it resembles clouds in some of the photos.

amazonesa2 — This view from the ISS shows the smoke from the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires.
ESA/NASA–L. Parmitano

Attention to the fires surged worldwide last week when social media users rallied around several trending hashtags. People around the globe also took to the streets and protested, demanding action to stop the fires. Eventually, foreign leaders began to speak out on social media as well and develop a plan to help put out the fires.

Here's everything we know about the ongoing fires in the Amazon and multiple ways you can help.

What caused the fires?

While the Amazon rainforest is typically wet and humid, July and August -- the onset of the dry season -- are the region's driest months, with "activity" peaking by early September and stopping by mid-November, according to NASA.

Fire is often used to clear out the land for farming or ranching. For that reason, the vast majority of the fires can be attributed to humans, Christian Poirier, program director of the nonprofit Amazon Watch, told CNN.

Without providing evidence, Bolsonaro suggested the fires were set by nongovernmental organizations in retaliation to funding cuts. He later said he never accused them, according to the BBC.

What's the connection to climate change?

In a release on Aug. 22, Greenpeace said forest fires and climate change operate in a vicious circle. As the number of fires increase, greenhouse gas emissions do too. This makes the planet's overall temperature rise, the organization said. As the temperature increases, extreme weather events like major droughts happen more often.

"In addition to increasing emissions, deforestation contributes directly to a change in rainfall patterns in the affected region, extending the length of the dry season, further affecting forests, biodiversity, agriculture and human health," Greenpeace said in the release.

Last week, NASA released an AIRS Map showing the carbon monoxide associated with the fires in Brazil between Aug. 8 and Aug. 22. The animated map shows a carbon monoxide plume bloom in the northwest Amazon region, move south and east, and then toward San Paolo.

What areas are affected?

Satellite images showed fires in the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Rondonia, Para and Mato Grosso. The state of Amazonas is most affected, according to Euronews.

Effects of damage to the Amazon go far beyond Brazil and its neighbors. The area's rainforest generates more than 20% of the world's oxygen and is home to 10% of the world's known biodiversity. The Amazon is referred to as the "lungs of the planet" and plays a major role in regulating the climate. The world would drastically change if the rainforest were to disappear, with impacts on everything from farms to drinking water.

The World Meteorological Organization, the United Nation's weather arm, tweeted about the fires Thursday.

"Fires release pollutants including particulate matter & toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and non-methane organic compounds into the atmosphere," the organization said.