Consequences of Amazon RainForest Fire

The “Lungs of the Planet” are burning.

As thousands of fiery infernos rage across the Amazon rainforest, tropical vegetation, trees, and the fauna they house are being razed. Since August 15, more than 9,500 new forest fires have started across Brazil, primarily in the Amazon basin.

This year so far, scientists have recorded more than 74,000 fires in Brazil. That’s nearly double 2018’s total of about 40,000 fires. The surge marks an 83 per cent increase in wildfires over the same period of 2018, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research reported. The largest state in Brazil, Amazonas, declared a state of emergency. Already, 2019 has the highest number of fires observed in a single year since researchers began keeping track in 2013 and there are still four months to go.

The most obvious effect of wildfires is the utter destruction and devastation they leave in their wake. The loss of human, animal and plant life is a terrible tragedy, as is the annihilation of the land and habitats that these people, animals, and plants called home.

Consequences left behind Biodiversity

Of course, the Amazon rainforest itself is also extremely important. The forests surrounding the river have long supported stunning biodiversity and unique, isolated human cultures. The Amazon rainforest holds at least 10% of the World’s Biodiversity. Familiar animals like jaguars and armadillos that have wandered as far as the southwestern US, live in the Amazon. There are also strangely patterned freshwater stingrays with spots reminiscent of butterflies, frogs whose tadpoles live on mother’s back in high humidity. 

As well as eradicating beautiful and complex ecosystems, the fires also lead to the destruction of entire species, some of which will always remain unknown and ‘undiscovered’. In Western medicine, around 25% of the drugs we use are derived from plants in the Amazon. However, less than 5% of the plants in the Amazon have actually been studied by scientists, meaning that with the burning of the Amazon, a vast and untapped medicinal potential is also being extinguished. Humanity shoots itself in the foot once again. 

Consequences met by Air Source

Not only do wildfires destroy trees (which, news flash, are doing vital work in helping offset humanity’s staggering carbon footprint), the burning of the forests leads to more carbon being released into the atmosphere. The devastating wildfires in Indonesia back in 1997 were said to have generated 25% of global carbon emissions. As well as destroying oxygen-giving plants and trees and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere, the fires also pollute the air for miles around. Leaving local residents breathing in smoke, ash and carbon monoxide, resulting in health issues that stretch well beyond those directly involved in the fire itself. 

Impact of Water sources

Another, less-considered, result of wildfires is the extensive use of water to put them out. As we all know, water is a valuable resource, and having to use frequently use great amounts of it to combat the rising level of wildfires is definitely not great news for the world’s resources. In addition to this, the soil erosion caused by the vast amounts of water needed to put out the fires further impacts the already damaged land, making recovery and regeneration even more difficult.

This list is by no means exhaustive: wildfires have many consequences and, as they increase due to global warming and deforestation, will continue to damage the planet in myriad unimaginable ways.

The Amazon River accounts for 15 to 16% of total river discharge into the world’s oceans. This water is important because it carries nutrients from the plants, animals, fungi, and minerals in the forest far out into marine ecosystems. The Amazon itself holds enormous amounts of carbon and creates oxygen as well as freshwater but it also supports life in the oceans. Plankton, besides being food for whales and other marine animals, most of the earth’s oxygen. It is discovered that plankton produces about 80% of the earth’s oxygen. 

To know more about natural disaster read, 

An Apocalypse Warning on the Extinction of 1M Species