The World’s Largest Tropical Rainforest, also known as the Amazonia forest has, for over two weeks, been on fire.

There have been about 72,843 fires in Brazil this year, with more than half in the Amazonia region.

The forest, also called the Lungs of the Earth houses about 20% of the world’s oxygen and a home to quite a number of animals.

Scientists warn that this disaster can strike a warning in the fight against climate change.

Environmental activists and organizations like the World Wildlife Fund also warn that if the Amazon reaches a point of no return, the rainforest may become a dry savannah, no longer habitable for much of its wildlife. If this happens, instead of being a source of oxygen, it can start emitting carbon — the major driver of climate change.

The rainforest has been in existence for at least 55 million years, and most of the region remained free of savanna-type biomes at least until the current ice age, when the climate was drier and savanna more widespread.

The blazes of the fire are so large and widespread that smoke has seen in thousands of miles away to the Atlantic coast and São Paulo, the country’s most populous city, according to World Meteorological Organisation.

Widely shared photos on social media showed darkened skies over São Paulo during the daytime, but researchers have said that it might be connected to the burning rainforest.