Environment
Associated Press

Satellite measurements show significant jump in carbon monoxide over the Amazon

September 10, 2019

New satellite images show an increase in air pollution in the Brazilian Amazon while fires burned in the region last month.

The European Space Agency today published maps that show more carbon monoxide and other pollutants in August than in the previous month, when there were fewer fires.

The agency says fires are releasing carbon dioxide once stored in the Amazon forests back into the atmosphere, potentially having an impact on the global climate.

Burning continues despite a 60-day ban on land-clearing fires in the Amazon that was announced by President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research says the number of fires in all of Brazil has surpassed 100,000 so far this year, up 45 per cent compared to the same period in 2018.

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