how does the amazon rainforest fire affect us?
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As the rainforest decreases, so does its ability to support the rest of the planet. Large forests absorb carbon from the atmosphere, slowing the pace of climate change. Burning the Amazon means humanity is sabotaging its own life support system.
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Wildfire in the Amazon rainforest, near Abuna, in the Brazilian state of Rondonia on Aug. 24, 2019.
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The World Meteorological Organization tweeted about the smoke that has spread across Brazil stating, “Fires release pollutants, including particulate matter & toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and non-methane organic compounds into the atmosphere.” So, in a perverse chain of events, the fires are ...
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Wildfires emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that will continue to warm the planet well into the future. They damage forests that would otherwise remove CO2 from the air. And they inject soot and other aerosols into the atmosphere, with complex effects on warming and cooling.
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For one, these fires are releasing loads of harmful gases into the air, like carbon monoxide, which maps like this show is spreading in the region. And they also drive up deforestation, adding to what has already been a really bad year for the Amazon. ... And a dry Amazon is more likely to burn.
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Changing climate leads to forest degradation. Studies in the Amazon River basin predict that a rise in temperature corresponds with a 10-20 percent reduction in rainfall. ... Tropical rainforests typically get over 100 inches of rain a year, but each year this number decreases — creating a chain effect of consequences.
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Although the Brazilian Amazon is under threat, the vast majority of it remains intact. ... The Cerrado was not subject to the same ban on fires enforced on the Brazilian Amazon in late August. And so, between August and September, the number of fires in the savannah increased by 78% to 22,989.
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Latin America is one of the global regions most vulnerable to climate change, and increased forest fires are just one symptom. The Amazon rainforest helps regulate global climate, yet deforestation rates in the nine countries that house the forest are increasing. ...
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Uncontacted tribes (those who have no contact with “mainstream” society) are particularly vulnerable. Unwanted contact with outsiders can wipe them out. The loggers are ruining our forest. In Amazonia, deforestation is killing indigenous people by destroying the land they depend on for their survival.
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The 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires season saw a year-to-year surge in fires occurring in the Amazon rainforest and Amazon biome within Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru during that year's Amazonian tropical dry season.
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The Amazon did not evolve to burn, but for centuries, fire has been used to clear space in the rainforest for agricultural crops, from soybeans to palm to cattle. Deforestation often leads to fire.
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The Amazon rainforest is still burning. ... It's an alarming increase because the Amazon almost never burns on its own and the increase in fires this year has been so dramatic. The region is usually too wet to ignite, so the vast majority of fires are caused by humans.
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Fires normally occur around the dry season as slash-and-burn methods are used to clear the forest to make way for agriculture, livestock, logging, and mining, leading to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
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Scientists and environmentalists say the reason the Amazon is on fire is because farmers are deliberately starting blazes in their efforts to clear land for crops or livestock. One researcher estimated that humans start 99% of all Amazon rainforest fires. Such fires are a major cause of deforestation in the Amazon.
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If it keeps burning, it's likely to turn into a completely different ecosystem, with fewer trees and different species of plants and animals. Many trees will die, and animals will lose their habitat – some species might disappear from the area entirely.
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Fires are burning in other parts of the Amazon as well as other forest ecosystems in the region, including Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru. But most of the international attention has been focused on Brazil, which contains about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest.
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Forest fires are common in the Amazon during the dry season, which runs from July to October. They can be caused by naturally occurring events, such as lightning strikes, but this year most are believed to have been started by farmers and loggers clearing land for crops or grazing.