New fires rage in Amazon as Brazil military planes battle flame

Hundreds of new fires have flared up in the Amazon in Brazil, data showed Monday, even as military aircraft dumped water over hard-hit areas and G7 nations pledged to help combat the blazes.Smoke choked Porto Velho city and forced the closure of the airport for nearly two hours as fires raged in the northwestern state of Rondonia where fire-fighting efforts are concentrated, amid a growing global uproar and a diplomatic spat between France and Brazil, reports AFP.

“In some way we’re all passive smokers,” said Sergio Pereira, head of a children’s hospital in the city where more people than usual are seeking treatment for respiratory problems.

“The smoke can be really aggressive and the most affected are children and the elderly.”

Two C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying thousands of liters of water on Sunday began dousing fires devouring chunks of the world’s largest rainforest, which is seen as crucial to keeping climate change in check.

Swaths of the remote region have been scorched by the worst fires in years.

Seventy personnel — firefighters and troops — have been deployed to put out the blazes, the Rondonia government said Saturday.