Amazon nears climate ‘tipping point’ faster than expected

Hammered by climate change and relentless deforestation, the Amazon rainforest is losing its capacity to recover and could irretrievably transition into savannah, with dire consequences for the region and the world, according to a study published Monday.

Researchers warned that the results mean the Amazon could be approaching a so-called “tipping point” faster than previously understood.

Analysing 25 years of satellite data, researchers measured for the first time the Amazon’s resilience against shocks such as droughts and fires, a key indicator of overall health.

This has declined across more than three-quarters of the Amazon basin, home to half the world’s rainforest, they reported in Nature Climate Change.

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