The Amazon is no longer a carbon sink, it is an emitter, Pg II

Key Highlights:

• The Amazon rainforest, historically a carbon sink, now emits more CO2 than it absorbs, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
• Between 2010 and 2024, the Amazon released an average of 1.17 billion metric tonnes more CO2 annually than it absorbed.
• Wildfires were identified as the primary cause, contributing 1.47 billion metric tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
• The study, led by climate scientist Luciana Vanni Gatti, attributes this shift primarily to human activities like deforestation and intentionally set fires.
• Deforestation led to a loss of 7,91,835 sq.km. of forests between 2019 and 2022, alongside significant increases in mining, pasture, and soybean cultivation areas.

Amazon Rainforest.jpg

Detailed Insights:

• Scientists used research airplanes to measure CO2 levels at different atmospheric altitudes across four Amazonian sites from 2010 to 2024.
• Climate stress, exacerbated by deforestation, reduces precipitation by 17% and increases annual temperatures by 0.9°C, making forests more flammable.
• El Niño events and increased drought frequency amplify these conditions, leading to higher carbon emissions, with 38% of deforestation in 2024 caused by fire.
• The study emphasizes that the region's development model, based on destruction, is the core problem, necessitating public policies that value standing forests.
• Recommendations include implementing a zero-deforestation policy, strengthening controls on biomass burning, and prioritizing forest restoration programs.
• The Amazon spans five million sq.km. across nine countries, housing 10% of global plant and animal species and storing approximately 100 billion tonnes of carbon.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Carbon Sink: A natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases.
• Deforestation: The clearing of forests for other land uses, such as agriculture, logging, or urban development, leading to habitat loss and carbon emissions.
• El Niño: A climate pattern characterized by the unusual warming of surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, influencing global weather.