Apui : Fire brigades in the Brazilian Amazon are battling blazes off to their worst start in 20 years for the rainforest, according to government satellite data, following a record-breaking drought aggravated by global warming.
Smoke blanketed the horizon along the Transamazonian Highway outside the town of Apui on Friday, in the south of Brazil’s Amazonas state, where firefighters have gathered from up to 600 km away (350 miles) to combat the unusually early and intense fires this year,.
Firefighters in bright yellow protective clothing worked through the night to smother the flames using back-mounted water sprayers or leaf blowers as enormous blazes advanced over forests and pastures alike, leaving a vast charred expanse in their wake.
Fires ringing Apui and other towns across the Amazon often start on cattle ranches where locals are converting the jungle into pasture. Extremely dry conditions over the past year have made it easier for blazes to advance into the rainforest, which rarely burns under normal conditions.
