The effects of lingering smoke in the Amazon are beginning to be seen in Brazil as citizens are saying that respiratory problems, particularly among children and the elderly, have increased as fires in the region rage.
“The kids are affected the most. They're coughing a lot,” said Elane Diaz, a nurse in the Rondonia state capital of Porto Velho, as she waited for a doctor's appointment at the city's 9 of August hospital with her 5-year-old-son Eduardo.
“They have problems breathing. I'm concerned because it affects their health,” she added.
The number of people treated for respiratory issues increased sharply in recent days at the local Cosme e Damia Children's hospital.
“This period has been very tough. The dry weather and the smoke causes many problems on children, such as pneumonia, coughing and secretion," said Daniel Pires, a paediatrician and the hospital's adjunct-director.
At the G7 summit in France this week, participant nations pledged to help fight the flames and protect the rainforest by offering USD 20 million, in addition to a separate USD 12 million from Britain and USD 11 million from Canada.
But Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right climate sceptic refused aid before finally accepting it. Bolsonaro who took office with a promise to boost development in Latin America's biggest economy was also recently accused of illegal felling of trees for logging.
Others said in an open letter that the government's discourse and measures are leading to a “collapse in federal environmental management and stimulate environmental crimes inside and outside the Amazon”.
Mona Lisa Pereira, an agronomist, said, "Germany had already been helping through NGOs and they couldn't prevent this," Pereira said.
While many of the recorded fires this year were set in already deforested areas by people clearing land for cultivation or pasture, Brazil government figures show that they are much more widespread this year, suggesting the threat to the vast Amazon ecosystem is intensifying.
"We've seen that (Porto Velho) has been taken over by smoke, so inhaling those antigens and pathogens can harm the whole city's population," Ana Carolina Terra Cruz, a specialist in pulmonary illnesses, told the state government website.
On Tuesday, some clouds and a blue sky were partly visible in the Porto Velho morning light. But by the afternoon, the haze had again settled, with smoke so thick that it darkened the usually blazing sun. Pereira, the agronomist, said that smoke was "everywhere." "It's bad for everyone," she said. "Not just our children."
