Brasilia: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said that the Amazon rainforest now "is not burning as people say", in a bid to ease global concerns over the massive wildfires that were devastating the world's largest tropical rainforest.

"Our units have started working in the region. Now, the forest is not burning as people say. The fire occurs (in the area) where people deforest," the President told the media here on Saturday. The average number of fires recorded this year in Brazil, Bolsonaro said, was lower than those in the past few years, and the situation, which has caused international attention, "is moving towards normality", reports Xinhua news agency.