As of August 20th 2019 there have been more than 74,000 fires in this region, and that's not normal.

截至2019年8月20日，這個地區已經發生了7.4萬多起火災，這是不正常的。

In fact, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, it's already the largest number of fires on record for a single year.

事實上，根據巴西國家空間研究所的數據，這已經是有記錄以來單年發生火災次數最多的一年。

So what makes this year so different?

那麼，是什麼讓今年如此不同呢？

And what happens if the fires continue to burn?

如果大火繼續燒下去會怎樣？

First of all, not only is there an unprecedented number of fires, but there's also a massive amount of smoke in the air so massive that it's visible from space.

首先，不僅火災數量空前，而且空氣中的煙霧量也很大，大到從太空中都能看到。

Scientists estimate that it stretches 1.2 million square miles across Brazil, and it even briefly eclipsed the sun above Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo.

科學家估計，它在巴西境內綿延120萬平方英里，它甚至在巴西最大城市聖保羅上空短暫地遮住了太陽。

So how did we get here?

那麼，我們是怎麼來到這裡的呢？

The simple answer is people.

答案很簡單，就是人。

Scientists say that humans ignited as much as 99% of these fires, largely to clear land for agriculture.

科學家說，人類點燃了多達99%的這些火災，主要是為了開墾農業用地。

But that alone isn't actually unusual there.

但單單是這一點，其實在那裡並不稀奇。

Normally fires in the dry season from July to October, which is when ranchers and farmers are more likely to burn.

通常7月至10月的旱季發生火災，這時牧場主和農民更容易發生火災。

Where it gets complicated, is when you try to look at why this year is so much worse.

複雜的地方在於，當你試圖研究為什麼今年會如此糟糕。

Environmental groups say it's largely because of one man, zheer balsa, narrow.

環保組織表示，這主要是因為一個人，浙爾巴薩，窄。

The president of Brazil, the government of gyroball Sonando has sent a signal both in terms of its policies and in terms of his rhetoric that illegal activity arson, deforestation, land invasions, violence will be tolerated.

巴西總統、陀螺球索南多政府在政策和言辭上都發出了信號，非法活動縱火、砍伐森林、侵佔土地、暴力將被容忍。

That's Christian Poirier of the nonprofit Amazon Watch.

這就是非營利組織 "亞馬遜觀察 "的Christian Poirier。

And he says these fires were started by ranchers, land grabbers and a range of other actors who were emboldened by bowl scenarios rhetoric.

而且他說，這些火災是由牧場主、土地掠奪者和一系列其他行為者發起的，他們被碗裡的情景言論所激怒。

According to Poirier, They're setting fire to portions of the rainforest to acquire more land more property because now there's no risk of getting caught.

據Poirier說，他們放火燒掉部分雨林，以獲得更多的土地和財產，因為現在沒有被抓的風險。

But it actually gets worse.

但實際上情況越來越糟。

According to CNN Bolson, Aro has also slashed the budget of the country's Environmental enforcement agency by as much as $23 million.

據美國有線電視新聞網博爾森報道，阿羅還將該國環境執法機構的預算削減了2300萬美元之多。

If we look at these moves, we see the table was set for the kind of the devastation we're seeing today.

如果我們看看這些舉動，我們就會發現，我們今天看到的那種破壞性的情況，已經擺好了桌子。

Balsa Narrow himself has offered up an alternative explanation for the fires.

巴爾薩-納羅本人對火災提出了另一種解釋。

He suggested that non governmental organizations NGOs ignited them as a way to embarrass his administration, though he presented no proof.

他說，非政府組織點燃這些火種是為了讓他的政府難堪，但他沒有提出證據。

But here's the thing, regardless of how they started.

但事情是這樣的，不管他們是怎麼開始的。

These fires are really bad, and not just for the million or so indigenous people who live in the Amazon.

這些火災真的很糟糕，不僅僅是對生活在亞馬遜地區的一百多萬土著人而言。

For one, these fires air releasing loads of harmful gasses into the air like carbon monoxide, which maps like this show is spreading in the region.

首先，這些火災會向空氣中釋放大量的有害氣體，比如一氧化碳，像這樣的地圖顯示，這些氣體正在該地區蔓延。

And they also drive up deforestation, adding to what has already been a really bad year for the Amazon.

而且它們還推動了森林砍伐，使亞馬遜今年的情況更加糟糕。

And this is where things get even scarier.

這就是事情變得更加可怕的地方。

You see, deforestation in the Amazon triggers a negative feedback loop.

你看，亞馬遜的森林砍伐會引發一個負反饋循環。

The more trees that fall, the dryer the Amazon becomes, and a dry Amazon is more likely to burn.

落下的樹木越多，亞馬遜河就越乾燥，乾燥的亞馬遜河更容易被燒燬。

Now, scientists warn that we may soon reach a point.

現在，科學家警告說，我們可能很快就會達到一個點。

Where that cycle is irreversible.

凡是這種循環是不可逆的。

We're talking about is reaching a tipping point in the Amazon today, where enough of the forest has been either destroyed or degraded, and it can no longer create its own environment, its own rainfall, and that could trigger what scientists call a die back.

我們說的是在亞馬遜地區達到了一個臨界點 足夠多的森林不是被破壞就是退化 它無法再創造自己的環境，自己的降雨量 這可能會引發科學家所說的死灰復燃

So the moment you cross that threshold, that tipping point, you're moving into a place where the Amazon will turn into a savannah.

所以當你跨過那個門檻，那個臨界點的那一刻，你就會進入一個地方，在那裡亞馬遜會變成一個大草原。

He says that the Amazon would become a totally different environment, far from the one we know today, which is home to three million species of plants and animals, which sucks up is Muchas 600 million tons of carbon each year and which supplies as much as 20% of the oxygen that we breathe.

他說亞馬遜會成為一個完全不同的環境，遠離我們今天知道的一個，這是300萬種植物和動物，其中吸了是Muchas 6億噸碳每年和供應多達20%的氧氣，我們呼吸。