٠٠:٠١:٥١Locals voiced their concerns on Tuesday as the skies over Rio de Janiero were filled with a smokey fog following a series of fierce wildfires in the Amazon rainforest.
Footage shows the city skyline blanketed in smog while traffic moving along a distant bridge is barely visible amid the haze.
"Things aren't going very well already. If they continue the way they are, our difficult life on Earth will get much worse," a local man said. "There's deforestation; it affects the ozone layer, and this is part of global warming."
"I believe that nature is even stronger than human action. Nature swallows man. But what really worries me is pollution and fires," added a second.
Brazil has witnessed a dramatic increase in wildfires in recent years, with experts pointing to climate change and human activity as the leading causes.
Rio de Janeiro is reportedly seeing particle rates five times over the recommended limit. Meanwhile, according to the air quality measurement organisation IQAir, Sao Paulo topped the rankings as the most polluted major city in the world.
According to an expert from Inpe, smoke from wildfires has spread over a 5,000,000 square metre area, covering around 60 per cent of Brazil.
Data released by the Fire Monitoring Program of Brazilʻs National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) suggests that 38,266 blazes erupted in the Amazon in August, up 120 percent compared to the same period last year.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva travelled to the state of Amazonas this week, where roughly 340,000 people from 62 municipalities have reportedly been forced to evacuate amid what he described as the 'worst drought in the last 73 years'.
'Our difficult life will get much worse' - Locals raise alarm as wildfires blanket Rio de Janeiro in smog
Locals voiced their concerns on Tuesday as the skies over Rio de Janiero were filled with a smokey fog following a series of fierce wildfires in the Amazon rainforest.
Footage shows the city skyline blanketed in smog while traffic moving along a distant bridge is barely visible amid the haze.
"Things aren't going very well already. If they continue the way they are, our difficult life on Earth will get much worse," a local man said. "There's deforestation; it affects the ozone layer, and this is part of global warming."
"I believe that nature is even stronger than human action. Nature swallows man. But what really worries me is pollution and fires," added a second.
Brazil has witnessed a dramatic increase in wildfires in recent years, with experts pointing to climate change and human activity as the leading causes.
Rio de Janeiro is reportedly seeing particle rates five times over the recommended limit. Meanwhile, according to the air quality measurement organisation IQAir, Sao Paulo topped the rankings as the most polluted major city in the world.
According to an expert from Inpe, smoke from wildfires has spread over a 5,000,000 square metre area, covering around 60 per cent of Brazil.
Data released by the Fire Monitoring Program of Brazilʻs National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) suggests that 38,266 blazes erupted in the Amazon in August, up 120 percent compared to the same period last year.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva travelled to the state of Amazonas this week, where roughly 340,000 people from 62 municipalities have reportedly been forced to evacuate amid what he described as the 'worst drought in the last 73 years'.
Locals voiced their concerns on Tuesday as the skies over Rio de Janiero were filled with a smokey fog following a series of fierce wildfires in the Amazon rainforest.
Footage shows the city skyline blanketed in smog while traffic moving along a distant bridge is barely visible amid the haze.
"Things aren't going very well already. If they continue the way they are, our difficult life on Earth will get much worse," a local man said. "There's deforestation; it affects the ozone layer, and this is part of global warming."
"I believe that nature is even stronger than human action. Nature swallows man. But what really worries me is pollution and fires," added a second.
Brazil has witnessed a dramatic increase in wildfires in recent years, with experts pointing to climate change and human activity as the leading causes.
Rio de Janeiro is reportedly seeing particle rates five times over the recommended limit. Meanwhile, according to the air quality measurement organisation IQAir, Sao Paulo topped the rankings as the most polluted major city in the world.
According to an expert from Inpe, smoke from wildfires has spread over a 5,000,000 square metre area, covering around 60 per cent of Brazil.
Data released by the Fire Monitoring Program of Brazilʻs National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) suggests that 38,266 blazes erupted in the Amazon in August, up 120 percent compared to the same period last year.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva travelled to the state of Amazonas this week, where roughly 340,000 people from 62 municipalities have reportedly been forced to evacuate amid what he described as the 'worst drought in the last 73 years'.