Venezuela is contending with an unprecedented surge in wildfires, a consequence of a climate change-induced drought plaguing the Amazon rainforest area, as reported on Monday.
Data from Brazil’s Inpe research agency reveals a staggering tally of over 30,200 fire points in Venezuela between January and March, marking the highest count for this timeframe since records commenced in 1999.
These fires span not only the Amazon but also encompass other forests and grasslands across the country. The escalation of man-made fires, often ignited to clear land for agricultural purposes, has spiraled out of control amid soaring temperatures and scant rainfall in northern South America. Additionally, a lack of preventative measures exacerbates the situation.
Though the rainy season has eased conditions in Brazil’s southern Amazon, the ongoing fires in Venezuela raise concerns about the impending dry season, according to Manoela Machado, a fire expert at the University of Oxford.
“Everything is indicating we’re going to see other events of catastrophic fires — megafires that are huge in size and height,” Machado said.
In Venezuela, roughly 400 firefighters fought a major blaze over the Easter holiday weekend that is threatening the lush Henri Pittier National Park, a beachfront preserve with rare cloud forests, according to the national park service.
“I am shocked, if not to say alarmed, by this fire,” said Carlos Carruido Perez, who lives nearby. “I had never seen a fire of this magnitude and this damage to the environment.”
read more
image source
