Rising Ocean Temperatures Prime Amazon Rainforest for Fire

[MindMover]

Scientists used to think the Amazon was too wet to burn but a warming Atlantic Ocean is drawing moisture away from the rainforest.

MOYOBAMBA, Peru – Karina Pinasco watched in dismay as flames on a hillside at the edge of town lit up the sky one night in October 2010. A farmer had intended to clear a few hectares of land to plant coffee bushes, but the fire – set during an unusually hot, dry spell – quickly got out of hand.

Propelled by winds and high temperatures, it burned for 10 days, charring more than 250 acres of land.

"We realized we weren't prepared," says Pinasco, a biologist who heads Amazónicos por la Amazonía, a local environmental organization. "The firefighters weren't trained. It was the rain that finally put it out."

Scientists used to think the rainforest, especially in the western Amazon, was too wet to burn. But major fire seasons in 2005 and 2010 made them reconsider.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rising-ocean-temperatures-prime-amazon-for-fire

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[Typical NYC Lib]

1. Amazon Rainforest, aka "The Lungs of the Planet"?

[n2doc]

2. The Peruvian Amazon is stunningly beautiful

And has a vast number of species. Another crime against nature we have to answer to.