Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest 'worst in 10 years': Brazil
- 5 years ago
BRAZIL — Brazil has recorded its worst annual deforestation figures in ten years.
7,900 square kilometers of the Amazon rainforest was destroyed between August 2017 and July 2018, according to the BBC.
This represents a 13.7 percent increase from last year's figures.
Most of the deforestation took place in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Para.
In addition to affecting water supplies, deforestation could also cause the rainforest to start releasing greenhouse gases instead of taking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the National Geographic reports.
Carlos Nobre, a climate scientist, said if sixty percent of the forest degrades to a savanna, it could result in five or six years' of fossil-fuel emissions being released into the air.
Deforestation was responsible for forty-six percent of Brazil's greenhouse gas emission in 2017, according to the Guardian.
7,900 square kilometers of the Amazon rainforest was destroyed between August 2017 and July 2018, according to the BBC.
This represents a 13.7 percent increase from last year's figures.
Most of the deforestation took place in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Para.
In addition to affecting water supplies, deforestation could also cause the rainforest to start releasing greenhouse gases instead of taking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the National Geographic reports.
Carlos Nobre, a climate scientist, said if sixty percent of the forest degrades to a savanna, it could result in five or six years' of fossil-fuel emissions being released into the air.
Deforestation was responsible for forty-six percent of Brazil's greenhouse gas emission in 2017, according to the Guardian.