Amazon fires intensify Andes glacier meltSmoke from burning forests in the Amazon can intensify glacier melt, researchers say, fuelling concern about a water crisis in South America.The team found evidence that snow and ice was being "darkened", accelerating the melt rate, threatening supplies.Melting tropical glaciers provide water for millions of people in the region.Scientists modelled the movement and effect of smoke particles from fires on Andean glaciers, and checked their conclusions against satellite images.And they say the impact will be felt across the continent.Dr Newton de Magalhães Neto from Rio de Janeiro State University in Brazil, said: "Amazon deforestation and fires - events that occur mainly in Bolivia, Peru and Brazil - cannot be considered a regional issue."They have social implications at the continental scale, [because] accelerating the loss of glaciers increases the risk of a water crisis and the vulnerability of several Andean communities in response to climate change."