An aerial view of a tract of Amazon jungle burning as it is being cleared by loggers and farmers near the city of Novo Progresso,
- Almost 73,000 fires have been recorded in the Amazon Rainforest this year - nearly double 2018's total of about 40,000 fires.
- The fires are coming from people farming and logging the rainforest. It's not a new phenomenon. But it's unusually bad this year.
- It doesn't help that Brazil's government and President Jair Bolsonaro have not prioritized the environment.
- Photos show people how have been cultivating the land since the late 1970s, but it shows a greener, healthier rainforest. And a sky filled with less smoke.
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Fires in the Amazon rainforest, during the summer months, aren't new. But this year, it's the worst on record.
While Brazil's government has called warnings about the fires "sensationalist" and "hysterical," photos show this year the smoke looks thicker, and the damage to the rainforest, or the "lungs of the planet," is worse. The earth is being scorched, and fires continue to burn relentlessly.
Friday night, following pressure from his own people and the international community, and after weeks of spreading misinformation about the fires, President Jair Bolsonaro said he would send the army to fight them and prevent deforestation.
Here are photos showing what the Amazon rainforest used to be like, and what the burning looks like now.