Brazilian warplanes dumped thousands of gallons of water over the weekend to battle the raging Amazon rainforest fires, as leaders of the G7 nations pledged an immediate $20 million in funds to aid the South America countries.

Video posted to Twitter by Brazil’s defense ministry shows one of the planes passing over a smoldering area, spouting jets of water.

The country’s embattled leader, President Jair Bolsonaro, gave in to global pressure in making some 44,000 troops available for “unprecedented” operations to put out the fires.

French President Emmanuel Macron, the host of this year’s summit, announced the funds along with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera.

Macron called the Amazon the “lungs” of the planet, adding that leaders were also weighing the possibility of providing similar support to Africa, which has also been struggling with rain forest fires.

Though the US supported the initiative, President Donald Trump was not present for Monday’s working session on the environment, according to Macron.

Once the fires are extinguished, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, her country and others would speak with Brazilian leaders about reforestation in the Amazon.

“Of course [this is] Brazilian territory, but we have a question here of the rainforests that is really a global question,” Merkel said. “The lung of our whole Earth is affected, and so we must find common solutions.”

Pope Francis came forward as well, expressing concern about the fires in Brazil, which neighbors his homeland of Argentina. He urged the faithful to pray that “they are controlled as quickly as possible,” adding that the “lung of forest is vital for our planet.”

Bolsonaro tweeted Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would send a specialized plane to help battle the flames.

Fires are common in Brazil in the annual dry season but they are more widespread this year. Brazilian experts reported nearly 77,000 wildfires across the country so far this year, up 85 percent over the same period in 2018.

It is unclear how much of what is burning was already deforested for agriculture.

With Post wires