How much oxygen does Amazon rainforest produce?
How much oxygen does Amazon rainforest produce?
Sao Paulo: The world has woken up to the catastrophe that has befallen Amazon rainforest where wildfires have devoured large sections of the major source of oxygen and biodiversity.
Although the fires have been raging for a couple of weeks now, people around the globe came to know about the severity of the situation when sports and showbiz celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Christiano Ronadlo, to name a few, raised concern on their social media accounts.
How much oxygen does Amazon rainforest produce?
Most of the people have realized the importance of the Amazon rainforest when the wildfires made into headlines with media highlighting its significance for planet Earth. Efforts are underway to contain the wilfires in Amazon rainforest which generates more than 20 percent of world’s total oxygen.
For those who still have no idea about the location of region where the rainforest is located and what is happening in Amazon, it covers much of northwestern Brazil extending into Columbia, Peru and other South American countries, Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest famed for its biodiversity.
Millios of people and species are in danger due to the wildefires that have gripped the region.
The extent of the area damaged by fires has yet to be determined but smoke has choked Sao Paulo and several other Brazilian cities.
Why did the Amazon fire start?
According to experts most of the fires are caused by humans who use fire to clear out lands for farming.
Wildfires are caused by multiple factors, but they tend to intensify during the dry season, which usually ends in late October or early November, as land is cleared to make way for crops or grazing.
AFP adds
But the WWF has blamed this year´s sharp increase on accelerating deforestation in the Amazon, which is seen as crucial to keeping climate change in check.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Thursday he was “deeply concerned” by wildfires that have devoured large sections of the Amazon rainforest, blanketing several Brazilian cities in thick smoke.
“I´m deeply concerned by the fires in the Amazon rainforest. In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity,” he said on Twitter.
“The Amazon must be protected.”
Photo courtesy: Brazil Photos/Getty Images