be devastating to the planet we've already lost  20 percent and scientists warn that the rainforest  

is coming uncomfortably close to a tipping point  where an irreversible change in the climate system  

could transform this luscious landscape into a  dry savanna-like ecosystem which would be huge  

the amazon basin spans over 6 million square  kilometers and is home to one-fifth of the  

world's land species it also supports the 30  million people who live and depend on the land as  

a source of food medicine and shelter that's not  even including the key role it plays in regulating  

the regional and global climate trees absorb water  through their roots and transport it to their  

leaves where it's released as water vapor through  small pores in a process called transpiration  

as the water vapor rises and condenses it forms  rain clouds over the forest canopy basically the  

rainforest is making its own weather for example  one large tree can release 1 000 liters of water  

into the atmosphere in a single day the rainforest  recycles this water up to six times before it  

moves out of the region but as more trees are cut  down those that remain may not be able to recycle  

enough water to survive fewer trees means more  sunlight will hit the forest floor exposing the  

forest to higher temperatures since deforestation  began accelerating in the 1970s 800 000 square  

kilometers of the amazon have been lost and over  that same period the average temperature of the  

basin has risen by one degree celsius scientists  are concerned that if deforestation continues for  

another 10 to 15 years the eastern and southern  amazon will turn into a savannah not only would  

losing the rainforest mean a drastic change in  this weather system but remember the amazon is  

also a well-known and excellent carbon sink this  means that its trees suck carbon dioxide right out  

of the air and store it in their biomass through  photosynthesis an estimated 136 to 181 billion  

metric tons of carbon are stored this way helping  to slow the rate of global warming but scientists  

have found evidence that the amazon could flip  from being a carbon sink to a carbon source if  

unchecked deforestation continues some estimates  show that this is already happening in one fifth  

of the amazon and yet deforestation continues  between august 2018 and july 2019 tree loss  

has increased to more than ten thousand square  kilometers the largest rate in roughly a decade  

with scaled-back environmental protections in  the region commercial operations like farming and  

logging are expected to continue growing the rate  of deforestation at present fires are typically  

set to clear the land for these practices in fact  an estimated 90 of the amazon fires in 2019 were  

intentionally set releasing roughly 392 million  metric tons of co2 into the air and in just the  

first eight months of 2020 fires added around 226  million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air  

the equivalent of nearly 50 million cars this is  where the scientists forecast comes in according  

to their study if deforestation reaches 20 to  25 percent of the amazon it will flip to a dry  

savanna the reality check is that we're almost  there current deforestation is at a frightening 17  

across the entire amazon basin and approaching  20 in the brazilian amazon so at this point  

you're probably wondering we're at our limits and  what can even be done well don't lose hope last  

september a motivated group of scientists formed  the science panel for the amazon their plan is to  

produce a scientific assessment by 2021 to propose  solutions to help secure the forest's future  

there are also ambitious reforestation  projects in areas like abandoned cattle ranches  

these reforested areas make up about 23  of destroyed forests and can absorb carbon  

11 times faster than the trees that once stood  there so there is a glimmer of hope and remember  

unlike the 2019 to 2020 forest fires in australia  and california that were fueled by climate change  

more than 90 percent of fires in the amazon were  set by people which means that we actually have  

the power to stop them by changing our behaviors  we can tip the scale in our favor and avoid the  

savannah-like conditions that scientists say are  quickly approaching but that's just a projection  

it won't become a reality unless we let it the  climate crisis is here and we're here to cover  

it let us know what other stories you'd like to  learn more about down in the comments subscribe  

to seeker to stay informed and as always thank  you so much for watching i'll see you next time