The Amazon rainforest is located in South America. The Amazon rainforest includes a lot of countries, like Brazil, Peru, Guyana, Columbia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and so on. The Amazon rainforest has also one of the biggest rivers in the world- The Amazon river, and it has the world’s largest drainage system. The river supports the largest rainforest.
The Amazon Rainforest is often referred to as the ‘lungs of the Earth’. This saying is not entirely correct because the rainforest also uses oxygen itself. Actually, the carbon dioxide in the forest is a lot more important and has a big impact on stopping global warming. Carbon dioxide is used when plants grow, during photosynthesis. The plants store the carbon in their leaves, stems, trunks, and roots. It is estimated that in the Amazon Rainforest, there are as many as 390 billion trees.
When plants and other organisms die, during the decomposition process, they release a little bit of the carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. This is a natural process. On the other hand, deforestation releases so much carbon into the atmosphere that it is the second leading source of greenhouse gases after fossil fuel burning. A study done in 2021 showed that the eastern portion of the Amazon emitted more carbon dioxide than it absorbed, and this happened for the first time in history. So the carbon sink became a carbon source.
Amazon’s biggest threats are deforestation, fires, climate change, and land use, especially agricultural and cattle ranching. All of these activities have consumed more than 30% of the forest.

Amazon is one of the keys when it comes to the fight against climate change, but at the same time, it is also vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. Some of the animals in the world are used to temperature changes. Animals that live in the Amazon are really sensitive when it comes to temperature changes. In the Amazon Rainforest, there are a lot of different reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects. These types of animals are unable to control their body temperature. Amazon Rainforest has one of the world’s richest biodiversity, indicating at least 40 000 plants, 427 mammals, 1294 birds, 378 reptiles, 427 amphibians, 3 000 fiches, and over a million insect species. Scientists suggest that if around 20–25% of the rainforest were deforested, we might lose the Amazon Rainforest as we know it today. Right now, 17% of the forest has already been cut down. And with this, we would also lose all the biodiversity.

One of the biggest concerns in the Amazon area is the drying of the rainforest. This happens due to many different reasons, like deforestation, fires, and warmer temperatures, that all together mess with the Amazon’s hydrological cycle. All together, this leads to more droughts and wildfires, and the dry season is lasting longer. Some of the scientists are even afraid that this could lead to an ecosystem shift. It means that in the future, the Amazon Rainforest could turn into a Savannah.
The Amazon hydrological cycle helps to maintain the global and regional climate. It happens when plants release water into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration and rivers send their water to the ocean. It affects the world climate and also the circulation of ocean currents. Scientists have noticed that this system doesn’t work so well any more. And there are two reasons behind it. One of the reasons is the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Even though ENSO events are natural phenomena, anthropogenic climate change is expected to increase their frequency in the future. During ENSO in the Amazon, the conditions are dryer than normally. The other reason for the failure of the hydrological system is deforestation. Deforestation doesn’t just mean cutting down the trees. It also affects the rainfall patterns and distribution.
It is suggested that by the year 2050, the temperatures in the Amazon will increase by 2–3°C. And at the same time, there will be a decrease in rainfall. This will all lead to extensive drying. During the dry season, more sun will get to the forest, and it will cause all the plants to transpire. But now, when there is less rain, it causes the temperatures to rise. It works the same way as we sweat. We sweat to lower our body temperature, and plants transpire to lower their temperature.

The loss of Amazon rainforest would have a global impact. It would change all the weather patterns in South America, and it would also affect global circulation. Losing the forest will also release massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Sources:
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/amazon-rainforest/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_rainforest
https://amazonaid.org/threats-to-the-amazon/climate-change/
https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/amazon/amazon_threats/climate_change_amazon/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-the-amazon-so-important-for-climate-change1/
https://amazonaid.org/threats-to-the-amazon/the-tipping-point/
https://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/amazon_cc_impacts_lit_review_final_2.pdf