Brazil sends 1,500 firefighters to combat Amazon forest blazes

Environment minister says severe drought is aggravating' factor as smoke engulfs Porto Velho city

The Brazilian government has deployed almost 1,500 firefighters to the Amazon as the most severe drought in decades is turning the rainforest's usually moist vegetation into kindling and flames.

Despite a sharp decrease in deforestation since the president, Lula da Silva, took power in January 2023, there have reportedly been 59,000 fires in the forest since the start of the year, the highest number since 2008, according to satellite data from the National Institute for Space Research.