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'Amazon rainforest hit by second 'once in a century drought' in five years'As with the explosion in wildfires in North America, the Arctic, Southeast Asia and elsewhere, we suspect that the vast majority of these fires are not man-made.
Daily Mail, 4 February 2011
The Amazon has been hit by its second 'once in a century' drought in five years, scientists say.
A study found that last year's drought was even more severe and more widespread than the disastrous water shortages that gripped the world's largest rainforest in 2005.
The extended dry season is thought to have wiped out swathes of the Amazon, killing millions of trees, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals.
"I've visited quite a few sites of biomass burning during my 10 years or so of research in the area. And I can certainly say this is the worst situation I've ever encountered for biomass burning or any form of combustion in a natural environment,"All over the world we are witnessing extensive wildfires, which in some regions have been described as "unprecedented". The National Interagency Fire Center has described the 2015 wildfire season in the United States as a record breaker.
Comment: See also: Major wildfire kills two as farm animals burned alive in southern Australia