Picture taken on December 1, 2009 while a fire burns part of the 500 thousand hectares of the Tapajos National forest along route BR163 between Santarem and Cuiaba, in the Amazon region in northern Brazil. (AFP)
SALVADOR, Brazil鈥揥ildfires in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil have ignited a firestorm on social media, with President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday suggesting green groups started the blazes.
Images of fires purportedly devouring sections of the world鈥檚 largest rainforest have gone viral on Twitter. #PrayforAmazonas is the top trending hashtag in the world on Wednesday, with more than 249,000 tweets.
鈥淣o matter how successful we are, if our Earth dies, we all die,鈥� posted one Twitter user.
Another wrote: 鈥淪end your prayers to the Amazon and to the planet, we will need it.鈥�
Some of the images, however, showed fires in the Amazon dating as far back as 1989 or even in other countries such as the United States or India, AFP鈥檚 fact-check service found.
Official figures show nearly 73,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year 鈥� the highest number for any year since 2013. Most were in the Amazon.
That compares with 39,759 in all of 2018, according to the embattled National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which has been in Bolsonaro鈥檚 cross-hairs since it released data showing a surge in deforestation in recent months.
The head of INPE, the agency tasked with monitoring forest clearing, was sacked over the figures.
While it was not possible Wednesday to measure the size of the area affected by fires, thick smoke in recent days has blanketed several cities, including Sao Paulo, and caused a commercial flight to be diverted.
Forest fires tend to intensify during the dry season, which usually ends in late October or early November, as land is cleared to make way for crops or grazing.
But the WWF has blamed this year鈥檚 sharp increase on accelerating deforestation in the Amazon, which is seen as crucial to keeping climate change in check.
鈥淗istorically, in this region, the use of fire is directly linked to deforestation as it is one of the techniques for tree clearing,鈥� WWF said in a statement.
Bolsonaro hit back Wednesday, saying 鈥渃riminal action by those NGOs, to call attention against me, against the Brazilian government鈥� following funding cuts may be the reason for the forest fires.
鈥淭his is the war that we are facing,鈥� Bolsonaro told reporters.
鈥淭he fires were lit in strategic places. All the indications suggest they went there to film and start fires. That鈥檚 what I feel.鈥�
The Amazon Forest produces more than 80 percentage the world鈥檚 oxygen and is home to more than half of the world鈥檚 species of plants, animals and insects. It has been burning for 3 weeks and we have just found out about it! The lungs of the Earth are on fire.
鈥� Prakriti Arora (@therealprakriti)
Deforestation under scrutiny聽
Bolsonaro鈥檚 comments come as Brazil hosts a UN regional meeting on climate change in the northeastern city of Salvador ahead of December鈥檚 summit in Chile.
The 25th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP25) was originally planned for Brazil, but the country pulled out, citing impossible objectives.
Activists held a protest in the city where they denounced Bolsonaro鈥檚 latest accusation as 鈥渁bsurd鈥�.
鈥淭he fires are the consequence of a policy of environmental devastation, of support for agribusiness, of increasing pastures,鈥� Camila Veiga of the Brazilian Association of NGOs told AFP.
Speaking on the sidelines of the week-long workshop, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles defended the government鈥檚 efforts to prevent illegal deforestation.
鈥淎ll the rules on illegal deforestation have been upheld, all strategies have continued to be enforced,鈥� Salles said.
鈥淯nfortunately both the states and the federal government suffer because of the economic crisis, budget cuts, which hinders鈥� enforcement operations.鈥�
The forest fires have fueled criticism of Bolsonaro鈥檚 anti-environmentrhetoric, which activists blame for emboldening loggers, miners and farmers in the Amazon.
Salvador mayor Antonio Carlos Magalhaes told AFP that, if necessary, 鈥減olitical forces鈥� in Brazil would work 鈥渢o block any attempt at radical or extreme decisions鈥� on the environment by Bolsonaro鈥檚 government.
鈥淥ur country is concerned about the environment, our country is concerned with the preservation of its natural heritage, our country does not want to regress on this agenda, it wants to move forward,鈥� Magalhaes said.
Norway joined Germany on Thursday in halting Amazon protection subsidies, accusing Brazil of turning its back on the fight against deforestation.
Worsening relations between Brazil and Europe has worried the powerful agriculture sector, which fears a backlash from its key markets.