Amazon Rainforest Fires (2019)

The 2019 Amazon Rainforest Fires represent the most severe single-year deforestation event in the basin's modern history. During this period, more than 80,000 fires burned across the Brazilian Amazon, marking a 77% increase from 2018. Satellite data detected the loss of 1.7 million hectares of primary forest, with the majority of these fires deliberately set for cattle ranching. These fires released an estimated 200 million tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.