Brazil's Bolsonaro blames Amazon fires on NGOs as Twitter erupts

Images of fires purportedly devouring sections of the world's largest rainforest have gone viral on Twitter. #PrayforAmazonas is the top trending hashtag in the world on Wednesday, with more than 249,000 tweets.Another wrote:"Send your prayers to the Amazon and to the planet, we will need it."

That compares with 39,759 in all of 2018, according to the embattled National Institute for Space Research , which has been in Bolsonaro's cross-hairs since it released data showing a surge in deforestation in recent months.While it was not possible Wednesday to measure the size of the area affected by fires, thick smoke in recent days has blanketed several cities, including Sao Paulo, and caused a commercial flight to be diverted.

"Historically, in this region, the use of fire is directly linked to deforestation as it is one of the techniques for tree clearing," WWF said in a statement. Speaking on the sidelines of the week-long workshop in Salvador, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles on Wednesday defended the government's efforts to prevent illegal deforestation.

The forest fires have fueled criticism of Bolsonaro's anti-environment rhetoric, which activists blame for emboldening loggers, miners and farmers in the Amazon.

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