Considered as the lungs of the earth, Amazon rainforest has been burning for the last 16 days by thousands of fires that are ravaging in the rainforest. On Thursday, France and the United Nations called for the protection of the fire-plagued Amazon rainforest after Brazil’s right-wing president blamed NGOs for promoting an “environmental psychosis” to damage the country’s interests. 

Antonio Guterres, the chief of the UN said that he was “deeply concerned” by the fires in the Amazon. On his official twitter handle, he wrote,  “In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity.”

“The Amazon must be protected,” he added. 

This weekend, France’s President Emmanuel Macron urged all globe’s most industrialized nations to address at their summit and said the wildfires were “an international crisis”.

Official records say, near about 73,000 forests fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year which was the highest. Most of the incidents were in the Amazon. 

Sao Paulo along with other Brazilian cities has been choked with smoke in the past week. Many damaged areas have yet to be determined. Macron said on Twitter, “Our house is on fire. Literally. The Amazon, the lung of our planet which produces 20 percent of our oxygen is burning.” 

“It is an international crisis. Members of the G7, let’s talk in two days about this emergency,” he added. Bolivia and Paraguay have also been fighting against separate wildfires that have devastated large areas of the rainforests. The northern states of Roraima, Acre, Rondônia, and Amazonas, as well as Mato Grosso, do Sul have been particularly badly affected.

Reports have also revealed that fires have been releasing a large amount of carbon dioxide. This year the amount was recorded 228 megatonnes which are the highest since 2010. During the dry season, forest fires are common in the Amazon which runs from July to October. They can be caused by several natural events, such as by lightning strikes, but also by farmers and loggers clearing land for crops or grazing.