Recent rains in both countries have helped put out the wildfires, which were likely started by farmers and ranchers using slash-and-burn agricultural methods.
Six volunteer firefighters use machetes to cut a path through the vines and underbrush of the Chiquitano forest in Bolivia’s eastern lowlands. They’re approaching the leading edge of a fire that’s been burning for hours.
They attempt to smother it with shovelfuls of dirt and water they carry on their backs in tanks normally used to fumigate crops. But the smoke is getting thicker, the heat stronger and swirling winds push the flames forward. Realizing they are overmatched, José Zapata, the only trained firefighter among the group, orders his men to pull out.
APUÍ, Brazil — A vigorous and incredibly lucrative trade in land for livestock is fueling the fires that have devastated the Amazon and caused an international outcry.
BuzzFeed News toured one of the areas most affected by fires in the Amazon and found that, according to farmers, one hectare of land cleared for cattle is changing hands for 20 times the price of the same area with standing forest.
Want climate news in your inbox? Sign up here for Climate Fwd:, our email newsletter.
In South America, the Amazon basin is ablaze. Halfway around the world in central Africa, vast stretches of savanna are going up in flame. Arctic regions in Siberia are burning at a historic pace.
While the Brazilian fires have grown into a full-blown international crisis, they represent only one of many significant areas where wildfires are currently burning around the world. Their increase in severity and spread to places where fires were rarely previously seen is raising fears that climate change is exacerbating the danger.
The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) said its satellite data showed an 83% increase on the same period in 2018.
It comes weeks after President Jair Bolsonaro fired the head of the agency amid rows over its deforestation data.
Smoke from the fires caused a blackout in the city of Sao Paulo on Monday.
Forest fires have consumed some 500 hectares (over 1,200 acres) of land in İzmir, Turkey’s Aegean coast, an official said on Aug. 19.
On Aug. 18, the fires broke out in four different regions- including two in the southwestern Muğla province and others in Izmir province, according to Agriculture and Forest Ministry.
After a year when its news agenda has rarely slowed down from its breakneck pace, Turkey had a week of calm for the Feast of the Eid al-Adha holiday last week. During this welcome break from a frenzied political agenda, Turks also received the good news that their tourism sector had capped a strong couple of years with an excellent performance over the holiday period, with hotels in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions reportedly booked to capacity.
The Russian military on Wednesday joined efforts to fight forest fires that have engulfed nearly 30,000 square kilometers of territory in Siberia and the Russian Far East — an area the size of Belgium.
The move, which includes sending military transport planes and helicopters that can drop water on fires, came after an order from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Fire crews with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry continue to battle a number of forest fires in northwestern Ontario, with three new fires added to the list as of Monday evening.
One fire, Red Lake Fire 42, which was located in Pikangikum First Nation, was declared out at 0.1 hectares, according to fire information officer Jonathan Scott.
Billowing smoke from forest fires has forced community members to flee from two First Nations in southeastern Manitoba.
Evacuations are currently underway in Little Grand Rapids First Nation — and will soon begin in Pauingassi First Nation — for people facing the highest health risks due to smoke from nearby wildfires in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.