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The Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out.<\/span><\/p>\n Deforestation is largely to blame, according to a new study<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The study, published in Nature Communications, found that roughly 75 percent of the drop in rainfall can be directly linked to deforestation, Sachi Kitajima Mulkey reported for The New York Times<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe were expecting to see deforestation as a driver, but not this much,\u201d Marco Franco, an assistant professor at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo who led the study told The New York Times. \u201cIt tells us a lot about what\u2019s going In the Amazon, more than 40 percent of the region\u2019s rainfall comes from trees, which release water vapor into the air through a process known as evapotranspiration.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s simple math: fewer trees means less moisture in the air.<\/span><\/p>\n Scientists have long known<\/a> about the connection between deforestation and declining precipitation, but it\u2019s a difficult effect to study and quantify as weather changes can appear far from areas where the deforestation actually occurred.<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, the study also connects deforestation to higher temperatures in the Amazon, generally, finding the hottest days increased by roughly 2 degrees Celsius, in part due to deforestation.<\/span><\/p>\n To understand the impact, the researchers pored over 35 years of annual data from key sections of the Brazilian Amazon, using satellite data and advanced analytical methods to measure changing climate and weather patterns, while sifting out other influences Luiz Machado, a professor of climate and meteorology at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo and an author of the study, told The New York Times that while it\u2019s common knowledge that climate change and deforestation have altered the Amazon, until The authors also note that a 75 percent drop in precipitation is an average across the Amazon Basin \u2014 areas with higher levels of deforestation experienced even greater rainfall declines.<\/span><\/p>\n This is because years of deforestation have pushed the rainforest into a vicious cycle: As large areas are cleared of trees, the forest loses its ability to retain moisture and recycle that water back into the atmosphere. This contributes to longer periods If this cycle of destruction continues, the rainforest could be pushed to an ecological tipping point<\/a>, transforming permanently into a dry savanna.<\/span><\/p>\n The continued deforestation of the Amazon would be disastrous for the Earth\u2019s climate. Conservation International studies<\/a> have shown<\/a> that the Amazon rainforest stores more irrecoverable carbon \u2014 carbon that, if emitted into the atmosphere, While new protected areas<\/a> are popping up around the world as countries work to meet global climate goals like 30 by 30<\/a>, deforestation continues to run rampant. In 2024, more than 40 million acres<\/a> of the Amazon rainforest burned, and the first six months As climate change makes forests both more vital and more vulnerable, protected areas remain one of our best tools<\/a> to keep forests standing<\/a>. Conservation International recently\u00a0<\/span>supported the creation of three new protected areas<\/a> in the Amazon<\/a>, protecting huge swaths of threatened forest and keeping vast amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere.<\/p>\n Further reading:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates<\/a>. Also, please consider supporting our critical work<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n on in the biome.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n like evolving landscapes.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n this study, \u201cnobody knew exactly what each of these things contributed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n of drought, which in turn, spur intense fire seasons that destroy even more trees.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n could not be restored in time to prevent the worst impacts of climate change \u2014 than any other region on Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n of 2025 saw deforestation reach 27 percent higher<\/a> than the first half of 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n