When?Notre Dame burned?for 15 hours in April of this year, the world knew about the devastating incident within minutes; the story dominated every nook and cranny?of the Internet. Unfortunately, the same hasn't happened for Amazon forest fires which have been burning for the past three weeks.?
The Amazon is one of the most important ecosystems and has the capability to combat extreme temperatures and unfortunately, it has been slowly dying for the past few days with a thousand raging infernos slowly eating away at its lush trees, flora and fauna.?
But has the world stopped the way it did for Notre Dam? Have people been singing sad songs as a tribute for all that it has given us??
No.
We have seen none of that happening. It's only now that the world has suddenly woken up after shocking reports of the fire's aftermath in and around the area.?
The fires, most of which have been set by farmers clearing their land, are raging in uninhabited areas of rainforest and encroaching on populated areas.?
The fire apparently caused the city of?Sao Paulo in Brazil to plunge into darkness.?Heavy smoke travelling from the burning Amazon rainforest had likely blocked the sun, leading to a citywide blackout.
Yes, that's how bad it is, also, just to give you a little more perspective, the?fires are so prominent that they can now be seen from space!?
Reuters
In total, the blazes have created?a layer of smoke?estimated to be?1.2 million square miles?wide, report Reuters.?
With the?catastrophe of this scale coming out in the open now, people all over social media are questioning the double standards between Amazon fire and Notre Dam fires.
What are we doing wrong??
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The National Institute for Space Research has reportedly?detected 39,194 fires this year in the world¡¯s largest rainforest, a 77% increase from the same period in 2018.
Earlier this year, there were reports that said that Bolsonaro plans to lift Brazil out of the Paris agreement. Reports allege that new ministers of environment and foreign affairs headed by him have abolished the sections within their ministries that dealt with climate change.?He said that the natural resources should be exploited in a "reasonable way."
What can people expect from a leadership like this??
While Notre Dam has the potential to be rebuilt and brought back to life, the same CANNOT happen to Amazon forest, the fire will leave the 'lungs of the earth' barren. It's heartbreaking to see the forest suffer the consequences of mindless human greed.?
It's time global leaders woke up to this catastrophe and took the action that it deserves!??