LONDON, UK – The Amazon rainforest is now “alarmingly close” to reaching a critical tipping point from which there is no return, with “catastrophic consequences for people and planet,” new WWF research warns.
The charity said the study, released on Biodiversity Day at Cop27, sounds an “alarm bell for humanity”, and in the worst case scenario, the so-called “lungs of the world” could case to function as a vital global climate regulator within just 10 years.
Aerial view of the Amazon river near Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon.
The worsening climate crisis, deforestation and degradation are all pushing the Amazon towards tipping into a permanently degraded state, with the WWF saying the forest as we know it and may die by 2030 – “risking catastrophic consequences for nature”.
If such a tipping point is reached the forest would change forever, the authors of the report said, with more frequent drought and fires preventing its recovery, and releasing enough carbon to put the 1.5C global climate target out of reach.
The researchers said over a third (34 per cent) of the Amazon biome area has already experienced at least one of three theoretical tipping point thresholds related to rainfall, length of dry season and deforestation or conversion of natural habitats.
The charity said the situation requires immediate, global action from the UK and global governments as well as the private sector.
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