Record wildfires hit Venezuela during climate-driven Amazon drought

A drone view shows a burned forest after a forest fire in Henri Pittier National Park, in Maracay, Venezuela March 30, 2024. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

SAO PAULO/MARACAY, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela is battling a record number of wildfires, according to data released on Monday, as a climate change-driven drought plagues the Amazon rainforest region.

Satellites registered more than 30,200 fire points in Venezuela from January to March, the highest level for that period since records started in 1999, according to Brazil's Inpe research agency, which monitors all of South America.