Record number of fires in the Brazilian Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon recorded more fires in the first week of September alone than in the whole of the same month last year, according to Brazil Institute for Space Research (INPE).

Official figures show that 9.74% more fires have been detected compared to the same month in 2021.Fires set to clear weeds on forest adjacent farmlands have wreaked havoc, consuming thousands of acres of forest.

Aerial images show a thick cloud of smoke enveloping the city of almost 320,000 people on the border of Peru and Bolivia in the far western Amazon.

Scientists assessing the burning acreage say 50,000 square kilometers of land is currently in danger from the destructive blazes, threatening to expand into the nearby rainforest as many are burning out of control.

This year has seen a record level of deforestation in the Amazon, the highest level in over a decade of monitoring, according to observers.