Bolivia is experiencing its worst fire season since data began. According to the non-governmental organization Tierra Foundation, since the beginning of the year the fire has already burned over 10 million hectares of land. Due to the critical situation in the country, a “state of national disaster” was introduced in Bolivia at the end of September.
The scale of this year's fires in Bolivia is larger than in the record-breaking years 2010-2019. The tropical departments of Santa Cruz and Beni in the east of the country, neighboring Brazil, suffered the most.
According to the Tierra Foundation, areas covering the area of 19 million American football fields have burned in Bolivia since the beginning of the year.
A disaster of unprecedented scale
The authorities announced on Sunday that the disaster affected over 11,700 people. families in 746 communities.
– Nobody has any doubts that this is one of the greatest natural disasters that takes place in our country – said Juan Carlos Calvimontes, Deputy Minister of Civil Defense.
According to data published by the government, 4.6 million hectares of forests and 2.3 million green areas have burned so far in this year's fires. September was definitely the worst month this year.
– What has happened in recent months in eastern Bolivia and will continue to happen at least in October is a disaster of unprecedented scale in this country, Juan Pablo Chumacero, a researcher from the Tierra Foundation, told reporters.
Fire smoke over the city of Santa Cruz, BoliviaPAP/EPA/JUAN CARLOS TORREJON
The human factor
According to the Tierra Foundation, most of the fires in Bolivia were caused by humans, but recent intense heatwaves and droughts in South America, linked to climate change, are contributing to the faster spread of fires.
The Reuters news agency adds that the fires in Bolivia have become more severe due to drought and land clearing related to the dynamically growing production of cattle and cereals. Due to raging forest fires, the Bolivian government declared a “state of national disaster” at the end of September.
Main photo source: Reuters