Thousands of fires are burning in the Amazon jungle in Brazil. There have not been so many wildfires in the last decade.
The worst situations are in the northern states of Roraima, Acre, Rondonia and Amazona, as well as in the Mato Grosso do Sul area.
However, images of the fire that have been shared on social media using the hashtag #PrayforAmazonas, or images that have been uploaded to this fire, have been proven to be decades old, and many of the images are not from Brazil at all.
So what is the real situation and how bad is that situation?
There have been many fire incidents this year
A record number of wildfires occurred in the tropical forests of the Amazon in Brazil in 2019, according to the Brazilian Space Agency.
The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) says data from their satellites show a 75 percent increase in fires this year compared to the same period in 2016.
Government estimates put the number of wildfires in Brazil at more than 65,000 in the first eight months of this year. This is the highest number since 2013. The total number of forest fires in 2016 was 39,659.
Forest fires are a common occurrence in the Amazon during the dry season. The dry season lasts from July to October. These fires can be caused by natural causes, such as lightning. But farmers and woodcutters also set fires to clear the land for crop production or grazing.
Protesters say Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's anti-environmental rhetoric has further encouraged deforestation.
In response, Mr Bolsonaro blamed the private sector. He is skeptical of climate change. He said the non-government organizations had set themselves on fire to tarnish the image of the government.
He later admitted that the government did not have the resources to stop the blaze.
The worst affected is the northern part of Brazil
The worst situation is in the north of the country.
The average number of fires in Roraima, Acre, Rondonia and the Amazonas has increased significantly over the last four years (2015-2016).
The smoke billowing from the fire has spread throughout and around the entire Amazon region.
According to the European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), the smoke has spread to the Atlantic coast. Even 2,000 miles (3,200 km) away, the sky of Sao Paulo was darkened by the smoke.
In some parts of Brazil, such wildfires have spread over a few acres
Presentational white space
The fires are emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide, amounting to 228 megatons this year. Cams says this is the highest amount since 2010.
Carbon monoxide is also emitted from this smoke. This gas is usually emitted when wood is burned.
The map released by Cams shows that the highly toxic gas carbon monoxide is now spreading far beyond the coast of South America.
The Amazon rainforest is home to over three million species of animals and plants. There are 1 million small ethnic groups living there. These forests are important for controlling global warming. This is because the vegetation of this vast forest absorbs millions of tons of carbon every year to cope with global warming.
But when trees are cut down, or burned, the carbon stored in the trees is released back into the atmosphere and the ability of these tropical trees to absorb carbon is reduced.
The fire affected more countries
Several other countries in the 6.4-square-kilometer Amazon Basin have been hit by wildfires this year.
Venezuela has the second highest number of fires after Brazil. There were 26,000 fires. Bolivia is in third place with more than 16,000 fires.
Charts of countries where wildfires in the Amazon region have spread further
Presentational white space
The Bolivian government has hired a firefighter to help put out the blaze in the east of the country. Bolivia's forests cover an area of about six square kilometers.
Additional emergency workers have been sent to the area. And sanctuaries are being set up for animals to protect them from fire.
