Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Amazon rainforest is emitting more carbon dioxide than it absorbs in some areas, study says
The Amazon rainforest is thought to be one of the best defenses against climate change. Its trees and plants absorb billions of tons of heat-causing carbon dioxide from the air each year and release much-needed oxygen back into the atmosphere. Also, the tree canopy that covers the land cools the air and controls the global temperature and rainfall patterns. However, according to a study conducted over nine years, some part of the rainforest is found to have been releasing more carbon than oxygen. More deforestation, logging, land burning, and heating are to blame, which are all caused by human hands and activities for economic purposes. The impacts of these not only have reduced the size of the rainforest but also have been harming the health of the rainforest. In fact, the rainforest had been mostly wet until recently. But as seen in 2019, there were disruptive wildfires that burned the size of a football field every minute. Unlike the natural wildfires in dry areas like California, these fires were caused by drought, deforestation, and humans.
It is feared that the entire Amazon rainforest might become a carbon source instead of sink in a few decades. The point of no return is nearing.
Read the article and learn about how the Amazon rainforest has been changing recently.
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