The surge marks an 83% increase over the same period of 2018 and is the highest since records began in 2013
A record 72,843 fires have burned in the Amazon this yearWildfires in the Amazon rainforest have hit a record number this year, with 72,843 fires detected so far by Brazil's space research centre INPE.
, raising concerns over right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's environmental policy.Most of the blazes were located in the Amazon basin - home to the world's largest tropical forest seen as vital to countering global warming. Images show the northernmost state of Roraima covered in dark smoke. The Amazonas capital Manaus has been on environmental alert since Friday due to the fires.Wildfires have become more frequent in Mato Grosso and Para, two states where Brazil's agricultural frontier has pushed into the Amazon basin and spurred deforestation.They are common in the dry season, but are also deliberately set by farmers illegally deforesting land for cattle ranching.
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