South America is facing a record-breaking wave of wildfires, driven by severe drought and deforestation. This crisis has claimed lives, devastated local economies, and highlighted the urgent need to address the underlying causes of climate change and environmental destruction.
Wildfire Outbreak Higher Than Any Alarmism Established Quickly
South America is facing an unprecedented wave of wildfires as it also recorded thousands more fires during this period last summer season. Some 400,000 fires have been resistered across the region in just the first nine months of the year, more than seen for all of 2023.
It is in stark contrast to the last fire season that devastated forests across the continent in 2019, and underscored by what authorities describe as the worst drought condition in close to two decades. One of the wettest places on earth, The Amazon basin is burning the worst it has in almost two decades. However, experts largely agree on one thing: climate change has left the Amazon in a state that is extremely flammable.
The first is Deforestation and Unsustainable Practices;
The fires burning across South America are a natural disaster caused in part by humans, mainly due to deforestation and poorly sustainable agriculture. More than 40 million hectares (99 million acres) of forest, brush and pasture have burned across Brazil this year, well above the recent average of about 31 million hectares annually over the last decade.
The primary driver of this forest loss is agribusiness, as farmers and ranchers cut down old-growth trees to make way for crops and livestock. Furthermore, traditional methods of land-clearing such as slashing and burning have led to the fire outbreaks among small-scale farmers in countries like Peru and Bolivia. Citing declining tariffs, stagnant investment in new technology and the increasing impact of climate change on older facilities, experts paint a picture of the perfect storm that is now hitting renewable energy.
Conclusion
The burning of South American forests shows a need to tackle climate change and the decline in oxygen-giving flora. Firefighters and soldiers are hard at work to extinguish the blazes that rip through the Amazon, but it is evident that we need to start from a long-term point of view that includes both immediate action against illegal deforestation and criminal practices in agriculture as well as continous efforts to mitigate carbon emissions. The only way to assure that the natural resources for South America are not degraded but actually preserved, and that the lives of their citizens are also protected is via a joint approach between the countries involved.
