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Amazon RAIN Forest Fire

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Anand Azad
Anand Azad

The Amazon rainforest fires of 2019 saw a significant increase in fires occurring across Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru during the dry season due to human activities like farming and mining. This led to international concern as the Amazon plays a key role in mitigating climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. Fighting the fires effectively requires greater infrastructure and integration between different groups, as the existing system is inadequate to prevent and control the large number of fires.

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A Presentation on Amazon Rain Forest Fire Presented By Submitted to Anand Kishore Azad K.Durga M.Tech 1st year EECE Dept.
Amazon Rain Forest • The Amazon Biome spans approximately 6.7 million square kilometers, which is twice the size of India. The basin is shared by eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname), as well as the overseas territory of French Guiana. Approximately 60% of the Amazon Basin is located within Brazil. • Amazon rainforest, the world's largest rain forest is at the risk of getting burned out completely. The rainforest, which contributes almost 20 percent of the earth’s oxygen. • The rainforest is home to 40 percent of the worlds tropical forest and holds 20 percent of the worlds freshwater supply. It is also home to 10 percent of the world’s species and 40,000 plant species and around 3000 varieties of edible fruits. • Further, the Amazon rainforest is also the natural habitat of 430 species of mammals and millions of insect species.
Amazon RAIN Forest Fire
Cause of Fire • While the Amazon rainforest is typically wet and humid, July and August the onset of the dry season are the region's driest months. • According to environmentalists, 99 percent of the forest fires are a result of human actions, either on purpose or by accident. Farmers and ranchers use fire generally to clear the land for further utilization. This year's fires also fit perfectly into the established seasonal agricultural pattern. This time is the most suitable to burn because the vegetation is dry. • Whilst most fires in the Amazon are started by humans, this is not always the case. The three main causes of forest fires are: – Dry environment – Lightning strikes – Volcanic eruptions
• Human-driven deforestation of the Amazon is used to clear land for agriculture, livestock, and mining, and for its lumber. Most forest is typically cleared using slash-and-burn processes; huge amounts of biomass are removed by first pulling down the trees in the Amazon using bulldozers and giant tractors during the wet season (November through June), followed by torching the tree trunks several months later in the dry season (July through October).[ • Fires are most common in July though August. In some cases, workers performing the burn are unskilled, and may inadvertently allow these fires to spread. While most countries in the Amazon do have laws and environmental enforcement against deforestation, these are not well enforced, and much of the slash-and-burn activity is done illegally. • Deforestation leads to a large number of observed fires across the Amazon during the dry season, usually tracked by satellite data. While it is possible for naturally-occurring wildfires to occur in the Amazon, the chances are far less likely to occur, compared to those in California or in Australia. Even with global warming, spontaneous fires in the Amazon cannot come from warm weather alone, but warm weather is capable of exacerbating the fires once started as there will be drier biomass available for the fire to spread. Continued.
Impact of Amazon Rainforest Fire • According to scientists, the Amazon rainforest fire could deliver a huge blow to the global fight against climate change. • The fire will not only result in a major loss of trees and biodiversity but also release excess CO2 into the atmosphere. • The forest fires also release pollutants including particulate matter and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and non-methane organic compounds into the atmosphere • Amazon rainforest, considered to be as the planet’s lungs as it contributes about 20 percent of the earth’s oxygen, is vital to slow down global warming. The rainforest is currently home to uncountable species of fauna and flora.
• The 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires season saw a year-to-year surge in fires occurring in the Amazon rainforest and Amazon biome within Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru during that year's Amazonian tropical dry season . • Fires normally occur around the dry season as slash-and-burn methods are used to clear the forest to make way for agriculture, livestock, logging, and mining, leading to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Such activity is generally illegal within these nations, but enforcement of environmental protection can be lax. • The increased rates of fire counts in 2019 led to international concern about the fate of the Amazon rainforest, which is the world's largest terrestrial carbon dioxide sink and plays a significant role in mitigating global warming. • As of August 29, 2019, INPE reported more than 80,000 fires across all of Brazil, a 77% year-to-year increase for the same tracking period, with more than 40,000 in the Brazil's Legal Amazon (Amazônia Legal or BLA), which contains 60% of the Amazon. Similar year-to-year increases in fires were subsequently reported in Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru, with the 2019 fire counts within each nation of over 19,000, 11,000 and 6,700, respectively, as of August 29, 2019.It is estimated that over 906 thousand hectares (2.24×106 acres; 9,060 km2; 3,500 sq mi) of forest within the Amazon biome has been lost to fires in 2019. Increasing Rate of fire.
Who is affected by forest fires? • Whilst the Amazon rainforest is far removed from most people, it contains the highest biodiversity of anywhere in the world, and is home to around 30% of the world’s known species, as well as to 390 billion trees (more than 50 times the number of humans on Earth) belonging to over 16,000 different species. By the 2010 IBGE census, 817,000 Brazilians classified themselves as indigenous. • Due to the plethora of species, the preponderance of trees, and the large numbers of indigenous people living predominantly within remote regions of the Amazon, these groups have the most to lose from land-use changes related to deforestation, urbanization, and forest fires. • The rivers of the Amazon basin accounts for 15–16% of the world’s total river discharge into the oceans. The Amazon River flows for more than 6,600 km, and with its hundreds of tributaries and streams contains the largest number of freshwater fish species in the world. • “There is no doubt that this rise in fire activity is associated with a sharp rise in deforestation,”
What's the connection to climate change • In a release on Aug. 22, Greenpeace said ,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. • On Aug. 23, 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.
NASA released an AIRS Map showing the carbon monoxide
How are the fires being fought ? • After weeks of international and internal pressure, Bolsonaro deployed the military to help battle the fires on August 24, sending 44,000 troops to six states. Reuters reported the next day that warplanes were dousing flames. • “It’s a complex operation. We have a lot of challenges,” Paulo Barroso tells The Verge. Barroso is the chairman of the national forest fire management committee of the National League of Military Firefighters Corps in Brazil. • He has spent three decades fighting fires in Mato Grosso, one of the regions most affected by the ongoing fires. According to Barroso, more than 10,400 firefighters are spread thin across 5.5 million square kilometers in the Amazon
System need for fought • Barroso contends that they need more equipment and infrastructure to adequately battle the flames. There are 778 municipalities throughout the Amazon, but according to Barroso, only 110 of those have fire departments. Barroso says “We don’t have an adequate structure to prevent, to control, and to fight the forest fires,”. • He wants to establish a forest fire protection system in the Amazon that brings together government entities, indigenous peoples, local communities, the military, large companies, NGOs, and education and research centers. “We have to integrate everybody,” Barroso says, adding, “we need money to do this, we have to receive a great investment.” • Barroso and other experts agree that it’s important to look ahead to prevent fires like we’re seeing now. After all, August is just the beginning of Brazil’s largely manmade fire season, when slashing- and-burning in the country peaks and coincides with drier weather.
Amazon RAIN Forest Fire

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Amazon RAIN Forest Fire

  • 1. A Presentation on Amazon Rain Forest Fire Presented By Submitted to Anand Kishore Azad K.Durga M.Tech 1st year EECE Dept.
  • 2. Amazon Rain Forest • The Amazon Biome spans approximately 6.7 million square kilometers, which is twice the size of India. The basin is shared by eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname), as well as the overseas territory of French Guiana. Approximately 60% of the Amazon Basin is located within Brazil. • Amazon rainforest, the world's largest rain forest is at the risk of getting burned out completely. The rainforest, which contributes almost 20 percent of the earth’s oxygen. • The rainforest is home to 40 percent of the worlds tropical forest and holds 20 percent of the worlds freshwater supply. It is also home to 10 percent of the world’s species and 40,000 plant species and around 3000 varieties of edible fruits. • Further, the Amazon rainforest is also the natural habitat of 430 species of mammals and millions of insect species.
  • 4. Cause of Fire • While the Amazon rainforest is typically wet and humid, July and August the onset of the dry season are the region's driest months. • According to environmentalists, 99 percent of the forest fires are a result of human actions, either on purpose or by accident. Farmers and ranchers use fire generally to clear the land for further utilization. This year's fires also fit perfectly into the established seasonal agricultural pattern. This time is the most suitable to burn because the vegetation is dry. • Whilst most fires in the Amazon are started by humans, this is not always the case. The three main causes of forest fires are: – Dry environment – Lightning strikes – Volcanic eruptions
  • 5. • Human-driven deforestation of the Amazon is used to clear land for agriculture, livestock, and mining, and for its lumber. Most forest is typically cleared using slash-and-burn processes; huge amounts of biomass are removed by first pulling down the trees in the Amazon using bulldozers and giant tractors during the wet season (November through June), followed by torching the tree trunks several months later in the dry season (July through October).[ • Fires are most common in July though August. In some cases, workers performing the burn are unskilled, and may inadvertently allow these fires to spread. While most countries in the Amazon do have laws and environmental enforcement against deforestation, these are not well enforced, and much of the slash-and-burn activity is done illegally. • Deforestation leads to a large number of observed fires across the Amazon during the dry season, usually tracked by satellite data. While it is possible for naturally-occurring wildfires to occur in the Amazon, the chances are far less likely to occur, compared to those in California or in Australia. Even with global warming, spontaneous fires in the Amazon cannot come from warm weather alone, but warm weather is capable of exacerbating the fires once started as there will be drier biomass available for the fire to spread. Continued.
  • 6. Impact of Amazon Rainforest Fire • According to scientists, the Amazon rainforest fire could deliver a huge blow to the global fight against climate change. • The fire will not only result in a major loss of trees and biodiversity but also release excess CO2 into the atmosphere. • The forest fires also release pollutants including particulate matter and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and non-methane organic compounds into the atmosphere • Amazon rainforest, considered to be as the planet’s lungs as it contributes about 20 percent of the earth’s oxygen, is vital to slow down global warming. The rainforest is currently home to uncountable species of fauna and flora.
  • 7. • The 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires season saw a year-to-year surge in fires occurring in the Amazon rainforest and Amazon biome within Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru during that year's Amazonian tropical dry season . • Fires normally occur around the dry season as slash-and-burn methods are used to clear the forest to make way for agriculture, livestock, logging, and mining, leading to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Such activity is generally illegal within these nations, but enforcement of environmental protection can be lax. • The increased rates of fire counts in 2019 led to international concern about the fate of the Amazon rainforest, which is the world's largest terrestrial carbon dioxide sink and plays a significant role in mitigating global warming. • As of August 29, 2019, INPE reported more than 80,000 fires across all of Brazil, a 77% year-to-year increase for the same tracking period, with more than 40,000 in the Brazil's Legal Amazon (Amazônia Legal or BLA), which contains 60% of the Amazon. Similar year-to-year increases in fires were subsequently reported in Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru, with the 2019 fire counts within each nation of over 19,000, 11,000 and 6,700, respectively, as of August 29, 2019.It is estimated that over 906 thousand hectares (2.24×106 acres; 9,060 km2; 3,500 sq mi) of forest within the Amazon biome has been lost to fires in 2019. Increasing Rate of fire.
  • 8. Who is affected by forest fires? • Whilst the Amazon rainforest is far removed from most people, it contains the highest biodiversity of anywhere in the world, and is home to around 30% of the world’s known species, as well as to 390 billion trees (more than 50 times the number of humans on Earth) belonging to over 16,000 different species. By the 2010 IBGE census, 817,000 Brazilians classified themselves as indigenous. • Due to the plethora of species, the preponderance of trees, and the large numbers of indigenous people living predominantly within remote regions of the Amazon, these groups have the most to lose from land-use changes related to deforestation, urbanization, and forest fires. • The rivers of the Amazon basin accounts for 15–16% of the world’s total river discharge into the oceans. The Amazon River flows for more than 6,600 km, and with its hundreds of tributaries and streams contains the largest number of freshwater fish species in the world. • “There is no doubt that this rise in fire activity is associated with a sharp rise in deforestation,”
  • 9. What's the connection to climate change • In a release on Aug. 22, Greenpeace said ,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. • On Aug. 23, 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.
  • 10. NASA released an AIRS Map showing the carbon monoxide
  • 11. How are the fires being fought ? • After weeks of international and internal pressure, Bolsonaro deployed the military to help battle the fires on August 24, sending 44,000 troops to six states. Reuters reported the next day that warplanes were dousing flames. • “It’s a complex operation. We have a lot of challenges,” Paulo Barroso tells The Verge. Barroso is the chairman of the national forest fire management committee of the National League of Military Firefighters Corps in Brazil. • He has spent three decades fighting fires in Mato Grosso, one of the regions most affected by the ongoing fires. According to Barroso, more than 10,400 firefighters are spread thin across 5.5 million square kilometers in the Amazon
  • 12. System need for fought • Barroso contends that they need more equipment and infrastructure to adequately battle the flames. There are 778 municipalities throughout the Amazon, but according to Barroso, only 110 of those have fire departments. Barroso says “We don’t have an adequate structure to prevent, to control, and to fight the forest fires,”. • He wants to establish a forest fire protection system in the Amazon that brings together government entities, indigenous peoples, local communities, the military, large companies, NGOs, and education and research centers. “We have to integrate everybody,” Barroso says, adding, “we need money to do this, we have to receive a great investment.” • Barroso and other experts agree that it’s important to look ahead to prevent fires like we’re seeing now. After all, August is just the beginning of Brazil’s largely manmade fire season, when slashing- and-burning in the country peaks and coincides with drier weather.