Science

1,200 new fires identified in Amazon region this week

A smoke cloud is seen over a burnt area after a fire in the Amazon rainforest, in Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil, on August 24, 2019.
A burnt area after a fire in the Amazon Rainforest in Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil, on Saturday. Photo: Joao Laet/AFP/Getty Images

Some 1,200 new fires have been identified burning in the Amazon Rainforest region this week, Brazil's National Institute for Space Research reported Saturday.

By the numbers: There have been 40,341 fires in the Amazon this year, per the New York Times. More than 1,330 square miles burned in the first 7 months of 2019. The largest swaths of the Amazon rainforest, in Brazil and Peru, are burning at the highest rates since records began in 2013 — a rise of 84% compared to the same period last year, according to INPE.

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Environment

Tropical Storm Dorian forms in Atlantic

Tropical Storm Dorian has formed in the Atlantic and it could reach hurricane strength by Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday.

The big picture: Dorian is the fourth tropical storm to form during this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, AP notes. It was moving westward at 12 miles per hour, packing maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour, according to the hurricane center.

Go deeper: The Atlantic Basin's tropical storms and hurricanes in 2019

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