Red alert on tropical forest area destroyed by forest fires

Smoke rises from a forest fire in Goias, Brazil. (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

In total, the world lost 67,000 square kilometers of precious primary rainforest, an area twice the size of Belgium and more than 80% of the area lost in 2023.

Global Forest Watch Co-Director Elizabeth Goldman said this is a global red alert because the level of destruction is at an unprecedented level in more than 20 years of data collection by the organization.

Wildfires were responsible for nearly 50% of the loss of forest cover, surpassing logging for agricultural land for the first time as the leading cause of deforestation.

A series of serious wildfires broke out last year and became more intense and difficult to control due to record-breaking hot conditions, according to research.

Climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon have made 2024 the hottest year on record, with average temperatures 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The loss of forest cover due to deforestation and wildfires in 2024 generated more than 3 billion tonnes of CO2, exceeding the emissions from fossil fuel use in India over the same period.

Wildfires are both a cause and a consequence of climate change, releasing billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, accelerating warming and creating conditions that lead to more devastating fires.

Last year, 2.8 million hectares of primary forest were destroyed in Brazil alone, two-thirds of which was cleared to make way for soy and cattle.

This contrasts with figures released last week by the Brazilian government 's MapBiomas monitoring network, which showed a sharp decline in deforestation by 2024.

However, MapBiomas' figures are based on narrower criteria and do not include many areas devastated by fires.

Tropical rainforests are home to the highest levels of biodiversity but are also the most threatened of all forest biomes on the planet.

Tropical forests help absorb CO2, preventing global temperatures from rising above current levels./.

According to VNA

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/bao-dong-do-ve-dien-tich-rung-nhet-doi-bi-pha-huy-do-chay-rung-249561.htm