In the past week, amid what authorities have labeled as the hottest January in thirty years, Colombian firefighters are contending with extinguishing flames in forest fires linked to the 'El Niño' phenomenon, which have consumed at least 17,000 hectares of vegetation since November in the country—equivalent to more than 400,000 basketball courts.
President Gustavo Petro declared the entire Colombian territory in a "natural disaster" situation for a period of twelve months, and requested international collaboration "to address what could be a global emergency in the Amazon rainforest."
