The Amazon is no longer a carbon sink, it is an emitter

In 2024, as much as 38 per cent of deforestation was caused by fire. Here, the Brazilian Amazon burns. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The world’s largest tropical forest, referred to as the ‘lungs of the planet,’ the Amazon rainforest once acted as a vast carbon sink that helped absorb human-induced CO2 emissions. But now, a study startlingly finds that the Amazon releases more CO2 than it absorbs from the atmosphere, as it is decimated by deforestation and forest fires.Scientists measured CO2 levels at different atmospheric altitudes, using research airplanes, between the years 2010 and 2024 at four Amazonian sites. Their findings indicated that “Amazonia is a net carbon source rather than a sink and cannot offset regional anthropogenic emissions.” Published - November 02, 2026 08:37 pm IST