Celebrities have taken to social media to raise awareness about the Amazonian fires

Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna have led the charge of celebrities expressing their concern over the fires raging in the Amazon.

• Army may fight fires: Bolsonaro
• Bolsonaro blames NGOs for Amazon fires

Climate change crusader Leonardo DiCaprio has led the charge of celebrities calling for help to stop the fires that have been ravaging the Amazonian rainforest for over two weeks.

Taking to Instagram yesterday, DiCaprio posted a photo of the devastation alongside details of what people can do to assist.

“The lungs of the Earth are in flames. The Brazilian Amazon — home to 1 million indigenous people and 3 million species — has been burning for more than two weeks straight” he wrote.

Madonna, singer Camila Cabello, Zoe Kravitz, Lil Nas X and Viola Davis were among the to

her celebrities sharing posts to raise awareness.

Madonna has pleaded with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro to change his policies. Picture: AFP

“President Bolsonaro please change your policies and help not only your country but the entire planet,” Madonna wrote. “No economic development is more important than protecting this land.”

“where does the donation go to help stop the fire in the Amazon,” Lil Nas X tweeted.

Actor Zoe Kravitz shared a picture that said, “when Notre Dame was burning, the world’s media covered every moment of it and billionaires rushed to restore it. Right now the Amazon is burning, the lungs of our planet.”

Actor Zoe Kravitz. Picture: Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron also tweeted about the fires, saying, “Our house is burning. Literally” and called on members of the G7 summit to discuss the emergency when they meet this weekend.

His tweet drew the ire of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who accused the French president of “using the internal issue of Brazil and other Amazonian coiutnries for personal political gain,” as well as posting “fake” photographs of the fires.

Aerial picture showing smoke from a two-kilometre-long stretch of fire billowing from the Amazon rainforest about 65km from Porto Velho. Picture: AFP

In a sharp escalation of tensions with Brazil, France is accusing Mr Bolsonaro of having lied to Macron and says it now opposes a trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur because of his environmental back-pedalling.

A statement from the Elysee Palace accused Bolsonaro of failing to respect his “commitments on the climate” and of failing to protect biodiversity and said that Macron “can only note that President Bolsonaro lied to him.”