Rare Fire Tornado in Brazil

Total recorded fire outbreaks in Brazil increased 330 percent in the first eight months year-on-year, according to a report released on Friday.

There were 5,814 reports of fires between January 1 and August 12, 2009, according to data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). However, INPE recorded 24,991 spots in the same period of 2010, the highest since 2005 when, in the same period, there was a total of 28,988 fires in the country.

Mato Grosso, a state in western Brazil, registered the highest number of fires, 5,970, up 648 percent over the previous year, followed by Para (4,814, up 503 percent), Tocantins (3,568, up 636 percent), Maranho (2,003, up 350 percent), Piaui (1,630, up 684 percent) and Bahia (1,431, up 52 percent).