What is the issue?

• The Amazon rainforest is burning at an alarming rate, creating worldwide concerns.
• Here is a look at the role the Amazon plays in regulating the world’s climate and the possible impact of Amazon fires on the world climate.

What is the current Amazon scenario?  

• The current fires in the Amazon are not wildfires.
• They are manmade and are mostly set illegally by landgrabbers who are clearing the forest for cattle ranching and crops.
• Deforesting the Amazon is a long, slow process.
• People clear the land by cutting down the vegetation during the rainy season, letting the trees dry out and burning them during the dry season.
• Fully clearing the dense forest for agricultural use can take several years of slashing and burning. But now, it is not taking place at this small-scale level.
• The 21st century deforestation takes place with tractors connected by large chains, which are pulling trees out by their roots.

Is oxygen supply really at risk?

• It is commonly said that the Amazon produces 20% of the world’s oxygen.
• Climate scientists however claim that the figure is wrong and the oxygen supply is not directly at risk in any case.
• This is because forests, including the Amazon, absorb roughly the same amount of oxygen they produce.
• Plants do produce oxygen through photosynthesis, but they also absorb it to grow, as do animals and microbes.

What is the crucial role then?

• The Amazon rainforest is frequently referred to as the “lungs of the planet.”
• But a better way to picture the Amazon’s role is as a ‘sink’.
• This is because the Amazon forests drain heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• It is a critical absorber of carbon of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels, like oil and coal.
• Currently, the world is emitting around 40 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year.
• Of this, the Amazon absorbs 2 billion tons of CO2 per year (or 5% of annual emissions).
• In this way, the Amazon forests play a vital role in preventing climate change.

What effect do the fires create now?

• Fires in the Amazon mean the carbon-absorbing forest is disappearing.
• Besides this, the fires also mean that the flames themselves are emitting millions of tons of carbon every day.
• This could be as serious as turning the thick jungle of Amazon into a tropical savannah.
• This is because the rainforest recycles its own water to produce a portion of the region’s rain.
• So, deforestation would make rains less frequent, and extend the dry season.
• Estimatedly, if 20% to 25% of the forest is destroyed, the dry season will expand enough that it will no longer be a forest, but a savannah.