State of Emergency Declared in Peru Amid Deadly Forest Fires

Peru has declared a state of emergency in the Amazonas, San Martin, and Ucayali regions due to forest fires that have claimed 16 lives. Since July, the country has been battling widespread fires, with President Dina Boluarte announcing that of the 238 recorded fires, around 80 percent have been controlled. She urged farmers to stop burning pastures, a major cause of the fires, alongside climate change. According to the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment, forest fires typically occur between August and November. Satellite data from Brazil’s Space Research Agency shows a record 346,112 fire incidents across South America this year, the highest since 2007.