WATCH | Drone footage shows true extent of Amazon fire damage

A record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest has intensified an unfolding environmental crisis.

The number of forest fires in the world's largest rainforest has surged by 83% this year.

Environmentalists have warned that controversial plans for more agriculture and mining in the region will speed up deforestation.

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has registered 72,000 fires this year, the most since records began in 2013.