Rampant wildfires threaten eco-system in Brazil's Pantanal Wetlands

The wildfires in the Pantanal wetlands, the world's largest tropical wetland, have raged the region since August, threatening the habitats of local wild lives there.

To fight the flames, a makeshift command post has been set up, bringing together nearly 100 firefighters, environmentalist and staff members from wildlife services.

According to a group of firefighters, they had to take a boat for approximately 40 minutes to reach a site across the river to put out the fire there, which started in early August but has reignited repeatedly afterwards.

Such recurring fire incidents are commonly seen during the dry season in the Pantanal wetlands over the past years.

Water levels decrease during the dry season and rise again in the rainy season in the Pantanal wetlands. Yet, the dry season has lengthened while the rainy season has shortened in recent years, with insufficient rainfall during the latter.

As a result, the upstream areas that are supposed to supply water to the wetlands are unable to provide adequate water now.

"The water supply to the wetlands has decreased, the time of water duration in the region is shorter. As a consequence, the wetlands dry out more quickly as the time they are exposed to the sun get longer, making it easier for these fires to get in," said William Assuncao, an analyst from the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, who has been working on forest fire prevention since 2010.

Biologists said the fires in the Pantanal wetlands not only have directly cause the deaths of numerous animals, but also severely damaged their habitats.

"The hyacinth macaw primarily feeds on two types of fruits that come from two specific palm trees in the Pantanal region. Wildfires that destroy these fruits prevent the macaws from feeding. Additionally, the wildfire has also devastated their nests. These birds stay on some large trees, so when the fire passes and the trees fall, these macaws would lose their nests," said biologist Bruno Henrique Grossi Carvalho.

Rampant wildfires threaten eco-system in Brazil's Pantanal Wetlands

European shares and international oil and gold prices were mixed on Wednesday and Thursday, after the Federal Reserve announced a 0.5-percentage-point interest rate cut.

Three major European stock indexes opened higher on Thursday.

As of 12:00 London time on the day, the UK's Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index rose by 1.05 percent.

As of 13:00 local time, France's CAC 40 index increased by 1.98 percent, and Germany's DAX Index edged up by 1.66 percent.

In terms of crude oil futures, the Fed's announcement failed to boost their prices, leaving investors worried that interest rate cuts may not be able to effectively boost demand for the energy.

As a result, international oil prices fell slightly on Wednesday.

The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery decreased 28 cents, or 0.39 percent, to settle at 70.91 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery dropped five cents, or 0.07 percent, to settle at 73.65 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

As for gold, its international price once hit a record intraday high of 2,627.2 U.S. dollars per ounce on Wednesday. Later, affected by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks, the U.S. Treasury yields rebounded and the increase in international gold prices narrowed. At the end of the trading day, the gold futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 0.24 percent.

Stock, oil, gold markets mixed after Fed rate cut