Editing Amazon rainforest (section)

==={{visible anchor|Impact of early 21st-century Amazon droughts|Impact_of_early_21st_century_Amazon_droughts}}===
In 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in one hundred years,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2005/2005-10-24-05.asp|title=Amazon Drought Worst in 100 Years|website=www.ens-newswire.com|access-date=July 25, 2006|archive-date=November 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115094341/http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2005/2005-10-24-05.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> and there were indications that 2006 may have been a second successive year of drought.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/17/brazil.topstories3 Drought Threatens Amazon Basin – Extreme conditions felt for second year running] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511043155/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/17/brazil.topstories3 |date=May 11, 2020 }}, Paul Brown, ''The Guardian'', July 16, 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2014</ref> A 2006 article in the UK newspaper ''[[The Independent]]'' reported the [[Woods Hole Research Center]] results, showing that the forest in its present form could survive only three years of drought.<ref>[http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1191932.ece "Amazon rainforest 'could become a desert'"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060806024937/http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1191932.ece |date=August 6, 2006 }}, ''[[The Independent]]'', July 23, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2006.</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/dying-forest-one-year-to-save-the-amazon-408926.html "Dying Forest: One year to save the Amazon"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925030042/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/dying-forest-one-year-to-save-the-amazon-408926.html |date=September 25, 2015 }}, ''The Independent'', July 23, 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2014.</ref> Scientists at the Brazilian [[National Institute of Amazonian Research]] argued in the article that this drought response, coupled with the effects of deforestation on regional climate, are pushing the rainforest towards a "[[tipping point (climatology)|tipping point]]" where it would irreversibly start to die.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nobre|first1=Carlos|last2=Lovejoy|first2=Thomas E.|date=February 1, 2018|title=Amazon Tipping Point|journal=Science Advances|language=en|volume=4|issue=2|pages=eaat2340|doi=10.1126/sciadv.aat2340|pmid=29492460|issn=2375-2548|doi-access=free|pmc=5821491|bibcode=2018SciA....4.2340L}}</ref> It concluded that the forest is on the brink of{{Vague|date=August 2019}} being turned into [[savanna]] or desert, with catastrophic consequences for the world's climate.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}} A study published in ''Nature Communications'' in October 2020 found that about 40% of the Amazon rainforest is at risk of becoming a savanna-like ecosystem due to reduced rainfall.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stockholm Resilience Centre|date=October 5, 2020|title=40% of Amazon could now exist as rainforest or savanna-like ecosystems|url=https://phys.org/news/2020-10-amazon-rainforest-savanna-like-ecosystems.html|access-date=October 6, 2020|website=phys.org|language=en|archive-date=October 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008021742/https://phys.org/news/2020-10-amazon-rainforest-savanna-like-ecosystems.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A study published in ''[[Nature climate change]]'' provided direct empirical evidence that more than three-quarters of the Amazon rainforest has been losing resilience since the early 2000s, risking dieback with profound implications for biodiversity, carbon storage and climate change at a global scale.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boulton |first1=Chris A. |last2=Lenton |first2=Timothy M. |last3=Boers |first3=Niklas |date=March 7, 2022 |title=Pronounced loss of Amazon rainforest resilience since the early 2000s |journal=Nature Climate Change |volume=12 |issue=3 |language=en |pages=271–278 |doi=10.1038/s41558-022-01287-8 |bibcode=2022NatCC..12..271B |s2cid=247255222 |issn=1758-6798 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Research from 2025 using hundreds of climate-model simulations says even passing 1.5C of global warming temporarily would trigger a significant risk of Amazon forest dieback.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Munday |first=Gregory |last2=Jones |first2=Chris D. |last3=Steinert |first3=Norman J. |last4=Mathison |first4=Camilla |last5=Burke |first5=Eleanor J. |last6=Smith |first6=Chris |last7=Huntingford |first7=Chris |last8=Varney |first8=Rebecca M. |last9=Wiltshire |first9=Andy J. |date=2025-05-12 |title=Risks of unavoidable impacts on forests at 1.5 °C with and without overshoot |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02327-9 |journal=Nature Climate Change |language=en |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1038/s41558-025-02327-9 |issn=1758-6798}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Tandon |first=Ayesha |date=2025-05-16 |title=‘Significant’ risk of Amazon forest dieback if global warming overshoots 1.5C |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/significant-risk-of-amazon-forest-dieback-if-global-warming-overshoots-1-5c/ |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=Carbon Brief |language=en}}</ref>

According to the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]], the combination of climate change and deforestation increases the drying effect of dead trees that fuels [[wildfire|forest fires]].<ref>[http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?64220 "Climate change a threat to Amazon rainforest, warns WWF"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614231510/https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?64220 |date=June 14, 2020 }}, [[World Wide Fund for Nature]], March 22, 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2014.</ref>

In 2010, the Amazon rainforest experienced another severe drought, in some ways more extreme than the 2005 drought. The affected region was approximately {{convert|1160000|sqmi|km2|order=flip|abbr=on}} of rainforest, compared with {{convert|734000|sqmi|km2|order=flip|abbr=on}} in 2005. The 2010 drought had three epicenters where vegetation died off, whereas in 2005, the drought was focused on the southwestern part. The findings were published in the journal ''Science''. In a typical year, the Amazon absorbs 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide; during 2005 instead 5 gigatons were released and in 2010 8 gigatons were released.<ref>[http://www.bitsofscience.org/2010-amazon-drought-record-866/ 2010 Amazon drought record: 8 Gt extra CO2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327191653/http://www.bitsofscience.org/2010-amazon-drought-record-866/ |date=March 27, 2019 }}, Rolf Schuttenhelm, ''Bits Of Science'', February 4, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2014</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12362111 "Amazon drought 'severe' in 2010, raising warming fears"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415150019/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12362111 |date=April 15, 2016 }}, BBC News, February 3, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2014</ref> Additional severe droughts occurred in 2010, 2015, and 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/aug/03/study-finds-human-influence-in-the-amazons-third-1-in-100-year-drought-since-2005|title=Study finds human influence in the Amazon's third 1-in-100 year drought since 2005|first=John|last=Abraham|date=August 3, 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=October 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031142034/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/aug/03/study-finds-human-influence-in-the-amazons-third-1-in-100-year-drought-since-2005|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019 Brazil's protections of the Amazon rainforest were slashed, resulting in a severe loss of trees.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Casado |first1=Letícia |last2=Londoño |first2=Ernesto |title=Under Brazil's Far Right Leader, Amazon Protections Slashed and Forests Fall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/world/americas/brazil-deforestation-amazon-bolsonaro.html?campaign_id=61&instance_id=0&segment_id=15631&user_id=579ae23cfcbd75c9aac87cb571cc201c&regi_id=72995439&emc=edit_ts_20190728ries |website=The New York Times |access-date=July 28, 2019 |date=July 28, 2019 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818072726/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/world/americas/brazil-deforestation-amazon-bolsonaro.html?campaign_id=61&instance_id=0&segment_id=15631&user_id=579ae23cfcbd75c9aac87cb571cc201c&regi_id=72995439&emc=edit_ts_20190728ries%2F |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Brazil's [[National Institute for Space Research]] (INPE), deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rose more than 50% in the first three months of 2020 compared to the same three-month period in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Scientists fear deforestation, fires and Covid-19 could create a 'perfect storm' in the Amazon |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/19/americas/amazon-fires-deforestation-rise-covid/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=June 19, 2020 |access-date=June 20, 2020 |archive-date=July 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725065013/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/19/americas/amazon-fires-deforestation-rise-covid/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2020, a 17 percent rise was noted in the [[2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires|Amazon wildfires]], marking the worst start to the fire season in a decade. The first 10 days of August 2020 witnessed 10,136 fires. An analysis of the government figures reflected 81 per cent increase in fires in federal reserves, in comparison with the same period in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/13/brazil-experiences-worst-start-to-amazon-fire-season-for-10-years|title=Brazil experiences worst start to Amazon fire season for 10 years|access-date=August 13, 2020|website=The Guardian|date=August 13, 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814012622/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/13/brazil-experiences-worst-start-to-amazon-fire-season-for-10-years|url-status=live}}</ref> However, President [[Jair Bolsonaro]] turned down the existence of fires, calling it a "lie", despite the data produced by his own government.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-environment-fires/brazils-bolsonaro-calls-surging-amazon-fires-a-lie-idUSKCN2572WB|title=Brazil's Bolsonaro calls surging Amazon fires a 'lie'|access-date=August 11, 2020|website=Reuters|date=August 11, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812062637/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-environment-fires/brazils-bolsonaro-calls-surging-amazon-fires-a-lie-idUSKCN2572WB|url-status=live}}</ref> Satellites in September recorded 32,017 hotspots in the world's largest rainforest, a 61% rise from the same month in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 1, 2020|title=Brazil's Amazon rainforest suffers worst fires in a decade|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/01/brazil-amazon-rainforest-worst-fires-in-decade|access-date=October 2, 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002190542/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/01/brazil-amazon-rainforest-worst-fires-in-decade|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, October saw a huge surge in the number of hotspots in the forest (more than 17,000 fires are burning in the Amazon's rainforest) – with more than double the amount detected in the same month last year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Campaigners' anger after huge surge in rainforest blazes|url=https://news.sky.com/story/campaigners-anger-after-huge-surge-in-rainforest-blazes-12121596|access-date=November 5, 2020|website=Sky News|language=en|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107223208/https://news.sky.com/story/campaigners-anger-after-huge-surge-in-rainforest-blazes-12121596|url-status=live}}</ref>