Known as the “lungs of the world”, the Amazon Rainforest is failing, due to no fault of its own. This remarkable forest plays a very important role in our planet’s ecosystem. Due to its immense size, the rainforest produces much of the oxygen in our atmosphere. Trees and plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and as the trees dwindle and are destroyed, that very process falters.

The forest faced many fires in 2019, rising to national attention; people across the world opened their eyes and saw the damage. Such fires reached a record high, with over 70,000 fires detected by Brazil’s space research center. Marking an 83% increase over 2018, this event was talked about around the globe. To give some insight on how impactful the fires were, the smoke plumes spread and blocked out the sun in a city over 2,000 miles away. In fact, it was so severe that residents of the city reported that the sky was dark between 3 pm and 4 pm.

In other depressing statistics, in July, the Amazon shrunk by 519 square miles, which is twice the size of Tokyo. Unfortunately, the fires causing the shrinkage are directly related to deforestation efforts by humans. Farmers will sometimes purposeful set the trees ablaze to make room for livestock pastures and crop fields. It’s arguably fine in small doses, but these burns can quickly get out of control.

To add fuel to the fire, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro isn’t exactly doing much to help the Amazon repair itself. Bolsonaro has a vision for the country’s future, but is planning on hampering the environment in doing so. The president wants a highway system to run through the Amazon, which will help citizens access BR-319, a highway built in the 70s. The route is impossible to cross during the rainy season, but Bolsonaro has promised to revive the road. Furthermore, in the not far future, the beloved rainforest could see itself at a point of no return. If the Amazon were to reach a tipping point in the destructive process, it can actually start to self-destruct, a process known as dieback.

The Amazon plays a super important role in the world’s climate, acting as gears in a global water cycle. Through a process called evapotranspiration, in which the trees’ roots gather rainwater and release it into the air, the Amazon is a powerful mechanism that constantly recycles water. Deforestation is causing the Amazon to shrink, reducing the forest’s ability to aid our world, such as through the process of evapotranspiration. It’s now up to us as caring citizens to try and do something about it, which can be hard at times. Because if we don’t, a major player on the global climate stage will be knocked out.