The Amazonian rainforest is being destroyed at double the rate of all previous estimates, according to research published today in the journal Science. The destruction is leaving the forest more prone to fires and allowing more carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere, according to scientists.
The Guardian: Amazon rainforest vanishing at twice rate of previous estimates »
Shocking Photographs:
Amazon drought slideshow »
Home to the greatest variety of life on Earth, the Amazon is both the largest rainforest and the largest river basin in the world, covering over 6,000 square kilometres. In a normal year the region receives over two metres (seven feet) of rainfall. Yet since January 2005 this fabled ‘land of waters’ has been been affected by an increasingly catastrophic drought, estimated to be the worst for 40 years.
Is the Amazon running dry? »
Scientists from Brazil and the US say new research suggests deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has been underestimated by at least 60%.
BBC: Amazon ‘stealth’ logging revealed »
