Brasilia, Brazil

In the Brazilian capital, a massive wildfire has destroyed about 20 per cent of a forest, cloaking the city in a cloud of grey-white smoke. The blaze, as per officials, was believed to have been started by arsonists.

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Conservation area

As per Reuters, the National Forest of Brasília is a conservation area that stretches to over 5,600 hectares of woodland home to springs that are the source of over 70 per cent of the city's freshwater.

"We have put out three of the four blazes, and we hope to have the fire under control by the end of the day," said Fabio dos Santos Miranda.

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Miranda, who manages the forest in an interview, added that they were "sure this was an environmental crime, but we haven't confirmed if it was intentional or not." 

He added that three suspected arsonists were seen in the area where the fire started.

Nearby orchards under threat

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Orchards adjoining the area are under threat from the blaze and firefighters are struggling to contain it and stop it from spreading to orchards where farmers grow tomatoes and flowers.

"We are working to protect the orchards," said fireman Major Godoy. However, he said that "the wind is blowing the fire towards them and the sparks fly a long way."

Brazil, wildfires and August

According to the data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), satellites in August detected over 38,000 fires — 38,266 to be exact. This is more than double compared to the fires in the Amazon rainforest in 2023, and the highest — by about 38 per cent, for this month in over a decade — since 2010.

This 14-year high, as per a Reuters report, comes after fire hotspots in August surged to a two-decade high and as Brazil battles the second straight year of extreme drought.

As per the report in the naturally wet, moist biome, fires usually start due to cattle ranching as people convert the jungle into pastures. Dry conditions and warm air aid the spread of these fires, which burn more intensely and for longer.

In August, thousands of fires were driven by a combination of weather, climate change and human action, said Helga Correa, a conservation specialist at WWF-Brasil, in an initial assessment.

Also read | Brazil deploys 1,500 firefighters to tackle Amazon wildfires amidst severe drought

"The region where we detected concentrated smoke in August coincides with the so-called Arch of Deforestation, which includes the north of Rondonia, the south of Amazonas and the southwest of Para," said Correa.

(With inputs from agencies)