Drone captures fire gathering strength in Amazon, leaving blackened forest in its wake

Drone footage from Reuters captures smoke and fires gathering strength in Brazil's Amazon on Tuesday. This serious scene has angered many in the international community as a record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest intensified an unfolding environmental crisis. Amid a global chorus of concern and condemnation, Brazil's right-wing President Bolsonaro pledged in an address to the nation to mobilize the army to help combat the blazes.

Environmentalists have warned that his controversial plans for more agriculture and mining in the region will speed up deforestation. Forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon have surged in number by 83% this year, according to government data. The Brazilian space agency INPE has registered 72,000 fires this year, the highest number since records began in 2013.