{"id":44725,"date":"2020-08-25T19:15:09","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T17:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=44725"},"modified":"2026-06-29T15:36:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:36:55","slug":"the-planet-on-fire-in-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/44725\/the-planet-on-fire-in-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"The planet on fire – in photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In many regions around the world, it\u2019s that time of year again – fire season. But fire seasons are getting longer and more intense each year. Rising temperatures from our climate crisis dry out forests and other natural areas and make fires more likely. <\/p>\n\n

In addition to the dire implications for our planet as a whole, there are more personal impacts. People are losing their lives, their homes, their belongings, their livelihoods. Wildlife is being killed off, and the forests that we all depend on are being wiped out. This year, with the additional risk of COVID-19, people will face even higher health risk, as fires intensify and air pollution increases.
<\/p>\n\n

This year\u2019s fires, similar to years past, come from different causes. <\/strong>In Brazil, the fires are no accident. <\/strong>They are being deliberately set by farmers and land grabbers to expand the land used for cattle ranching and industrial agriculture production, and are part of a practice<\/a> that is made even worse by Bolsonaro\u2019s anti-environmental agenda. Indigenous Peoples are most at risk<\/a>, as their homes, livelihoods and health are threatened by the fires.<\/p>\n\n

\"Fire
Fire in the Jaci-Paran\u00e1 Extractive Reserve, in Porto Velho, Rond\u00f4nia state, Brazil. One month after a presidential decree forbidding fires in the Amazon and Pantanal, Greenpeace flew over Amazonas and Rond\u00f4nia states to verify how efficient the measure was.
\u00a9 Christian Braga \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"Fire
Fire in the Jaci-Paran\u00e1 Extractive Reserve, in Porto Velho, Rond\u00f4nia state, Brazil. One month after a presidential decree forbidding fires in the Amazon and Pantanal, Greenpeace flew over Amazonas and Rond\u00f4nia states to verify how efficient the measure was.
\u00a9 Christian Braga \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Argentina\u2019s Paran\u00e1 Delta is also on fire<\/a>,<\/strong> threatening a vital ecosystem that is home to hundreds of species of plants and animals and helps regulate the climate. Like Brazil, these fires are mainly caused by farmers clearing the land for agriculture. However, the fires have been made worse by the strongest drought in 70 years and lack of rainfall<\/a>. Fires are also now raging in Argentina\u2019s Cordoba province<\/a>, threatening homes and forcing evacuations. These are also intentional fires, based on the economic interests of the agricultural and real estate sectors. Coupled with the droughts, they are causing irreversible destruction.<\/p>\n\n

\"Fires
Fires burn in the Paran\u00e1 Delta, Argentina. \u00a9 Sebastian Suarez Meccia \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"Fires
Fires burn in the Paran\u00e1 Delta, Argentina. \u00a9 Sebastian Suarez Meccia \/ Greenpeace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

We are also seeing the state of California in the United States go up in flames, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate<\/a> and leaving the state with the worst air quality in the world.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

This wave of wildfires — sparked by a historic heatwave and lightning — includes blazes that already rank among the largest<\/a> in state history. Smoke from the fires is spreading across the western US and the Pacific Ocean<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

In 2020, the California fires are worsened by one crisis facing the region and worsening another:<\/p>\n\n