HUMAITA, Brazil (Reuters) - Fires in the Brazilian Amazon have surged so far in August, government data on Friday showed, outstripping the same period of 2019 and renewing concerns about the destruction of the world's largest rainforest, which is a critical bulwark against climate change.
Brazilian space research agency INPE recorded 5,860 fires in the Amazon in the first six days of August, a 7% increase from the same period of last year. The data set is small and daily variation can be considerable, but the trend suggests this month may be on par with a year ago - the worst August in nine years.