Climate change and environmental factors threaten the lungs of the Earth

Arabia Weather - Scientists have indicated that drought and high temperatures, caused by climate change and other factors, pose a major threat to the Amazon rainforest system on the South American continent. This came as part of a study warning that approximately half of forests may face a critical stage by 2050.

The study, published in the scientific journal Nature, stated: “Pressures on the region are increasing in an unprecedented manner due to rising temperatures, worsening severe droughts, and increasing incidents of deforestation and fires, even in remote areas or those that represent the heart of the ecosystem.”

The lung of the Earth is in danger of disappearing

The study conducted by the researchers estimates that between ten and 47 percent of the current vegetation in the Amazon region, considered the “lungs of the Earth,” will be vulnerable to the effects of these cumulative stressors by 2050.

“Once we pass this turning point, we may not be able to take any further action,” explained Bernardo Flores, an ecologist at the University of Santa Catarina in Brazil. “The forest will die naturally.”

Flores stressed the importance of declaring the "maximum warning" for the Amazon, which is considered the largest tropical rainforest in the world.

Experts noted that as temperatures and moisture loss increase in the region, the rainforest is gradually turning into a savannah or other less diverse ecosystems, increasing the likelihood of fires breaking out there.

Read also: Amazon drought reveals inscriptions dating back 2,000 years

Source: skynewsarabia