Telling numbers: Counting Amazon fires, assessing forest lost

In the three months that followed, 28,000 locals participated in the weekly clean-up drive. According to district records, 19,300 water hyacinths and 8,440 plastic articles were removed from the 'river-turned-nullah'.

Amazon forest fire, amazon fire, Brazil president on Amazon fires, Fires in the Amazon, Amazon rainforest fires, amazon fire photos, — More than 74,000 fires have been recorded by the Brazilian Space Research Agency (INPE) between January and August (Reuters Photo)

AS FIRES rage in the Amazon rainforest, alarming the world and finally prompting Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro to deploy firefighting troops, various agencies have been assessing the scale of the disaster. They have been using several metrics — the number of fires, the area likely affected, and the extent of forest lost over the years. The implications are immense as the rainforest contributes 20% of the oxygen in the atmosphere, stores over 450 tonnes carbon per hectare, and plays a vital role in the global water cycle.