Deforestation causes almost 75% of rainfall reduction

Deforestation is responsible for nearly 75 percent of the reduction in dry-season rainfall in the Amazon rainforest compared to 1985, according to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications.

“Over the past 35 years, deforestation has been responsible for approximately 74% of the 21-millimeter decline in the dry season and 16.5% of the 2-degree Celsius (ºC) increase in maximum surface air temperature,” states the article referring to the study based on large-scale satellite data.

The analysis reveals that deforestation is associated with decreased rainfall, and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest in South America is also responsible for 16.5% of the 2°C average temperature increase recorded in the region (the remaining 83.5% of the increase is attributed to climate change).

The study also shows that the Amazon climate does not respond linearly to deforestation and that the most pronounced changes occur at the beginning of the forest destruction process, between the first 10 and 40% of forest cover loss.

Researchers used satellite data covering approximately 2.6 million square kilometers of the Amazon rainforest between 1985 and 2020, highlighting that the effects of deforestation and global climate change on the region's climate were also quantified.

"We analyzed long-term data on atmospheric and land cover changes in 29 areas of the Brazilian Legal Amazon from 1985 to 2020, using parametric statistical models to unravel the effects of forest loss and changes in temperature, precipitation, and greenhouse gas mixing rates," the study indicates.

With the data, taking into account current deforestation, the authors predict that in 2035 the Amazon region will experience an average temperature increase of 2.64ºC and a reduction in precipitation of 28.3 millimeters per dry season, compared to the 1985 data.

The study shows how the destruction of the Amazon (considered the “lungs of the planet”), together with the increase in global emissions, has led to a radical transformation of the rainforest.

The Amazon is the largest tropical forest on Earth and plays a fundamental role in maintaining regional and global climate stability.