Experts say deforestation and a practice called slash-and-burn are to blame for most of the flames. People cut down patches of forest, allow the area to dry out, then set the remains ablaze to make room for agriculture or other development. They might also set fires to replenish the soil and encourage the growth of pastures for cattle. Brazil is the world’s top exporter of beef, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

“THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THIS RISE IN FIRE ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SHARP RISE IN DEFORESTATION”

“These are intentional fires to clear the forest,” Cathelijne Stoof, coordinator of the Fire Center at Wageningen University (WUR) in the Netherlands, tells The Verge. “People want to get rid of the forest to make agricultural land, for people to eat meat.”

“There is no doubt that this rise in fire activity is associated with a sharp rise in deforestation,” Paulo Artaxo, an atmospheric physicist at the University of São Paulo, told Science Magazine. He explained that the fires are expanding along the borders of new agricultural development, which is what’s often seen in fires related to forest clearing.