Bizarre! Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Calls Amazon Fires a ‘Lie’ Despite Videos Showing the Rainforest Burning

He also claimed the forest does not catch fire because it is wet and challenged officials to fly over the Amazon and try to spot a single flame. 

Written by: Trending Desk Edited by: Ritu Singh

Updated: August 13, 2020, 10:55 AM IST

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In yet another bizarre statement, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday denied the existence of fires in the Amazon rainforest, calling it a lie, despite photos and videos from the region showing the forest burning.

“Tropical rainforest doesn’t catch fire. So this story that the Amazon is burning is a lie, and we have to fight it with real numbers,” he said Tuesday.

Bolsanaro further said that Brazil does not need help protecting the Amazon, arguing that the majority of the forest is still standing. He also claimed the forest does not catch fire because it is wet and challenged officials to fly over the Amazon and try to spot a single flame.

Data shows otherwise

However, Brazil’s government data shows otherwise! As per an AFP report, satellite data from Brazil’s national space agency, INPE, show the number of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon last month rose 28 per cent from July 2019 to 6,803.

More than 10,000 fires have been recorded in the first 10 days of August, up 17 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to the agency.

Experts say that fires are not a natural phenomenon in the rainforest, but are usually man-made in order to clear deforested land for pasture.

Last year, huge fires devastated the Amazon from May to October, sending a thick haze of black smoke all the way to Sao Paulo, thousands of kilometres away. Researchers are expecting the scale of the blazes to be even worse this year.