The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is burning for weeks, and smoke from these fires are spreading thousands of miles away. On August 19, it blotted out the sun over Sao Paulo, the nation’s largest city. According to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), there have been 74,155 fires in the forest in the first eight months of this year. This marks 84% increase over the same period last year. So who set the world’s largest rainforest on fire? Environmental organisations and conservationists blame it on cattle ranchers and loggers, who want to clear and utilize the land. Amazon rainforest is an important carbon sink. It covers 5.5 million sq. km of land, and is spread across 9 nations-- Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, 
Suriname & French Guiana. Here’s a look.

 
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