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Deforestation and climate change are altering the Amazon rainforest's ability to soak up carbon, according to a new study. Significant parts of the world's largest tropical forest have started to emit more CO2 than they absorb. The southeast is worst-affected, say, scientists, with higher rates of tree loss and an increasing number of fires. Temperatures there have risen by three times the global average during the hottest months.
Areas of our planet that absorb more carbon from the atmosphere - for example, in the form of the greenhouse gas CO2 - than they store are known as sinks. The role played by the lands and forests of the Earth in soaking up carbon has been a critical factor in preventing faster rates of climate change. Since the 1960s, these sinks have taken in around 25 percent of carbon emissions from the use of fossil fuels. The Amazon, home to the world's largest tropical forest, has (A) _________ a key role in absorbing and storing much of that carbon. But the growing impacts of climate change and deforestation are taking their toll on this crucial CO2 sponge.
Earlier this year, a study showed that the rainforest in Brazil released about 20 percent more CO2 into the atmosphere than it took in over the period from 2010-2019. The researchers are worried that the changing climate is also interfering with rainfall, which they argue, has immediate consequences for Brazil. "This is very bad news for everybody but mainly for Brazil," said Dr Gatti.