Everything you need to know about the fires in the Amazon

Photo credit should read JOAO LAET/AFP/Getty Images Record-breaking fires are ripping through the Amazon — an ecosystem on which the whole world depends. The Verge will update this page with news and analysis on the fires and the effects that could linger once the ash settles. Table of Contents: Why is the Amazon burning? Why is this a big deal? Why is this a hot topic politically? How are the fires being fought? Why is the Amazon burning? An unprecedented number of fires have raged throughout Brazil in 2019, intensifying in August. There have been more than 74,000 fires so far this year, the most ever recorded by the country’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). It’s a roughly 80 percent jump compared to the number of fires the country experienced over the... Continue reading…