Earth’s Lungs Are Failing: Amazon Rainforest In Brazil Loses Area As Large As Spain In The Last 40 Years

Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has lost an area as large as Spain in just four decades, a new study by MapBiomas has revealed. Wait, it gets worse. The study’s researchers caution that if another 20–25% of vegetation disappears, the rainforest may no longer be able to sustain itself, pushing the ecosystem towards an irreversible tipping point.

Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest Shrinks By The Size Of Spain

According to NDTV, MapBiomas study found that Brazil’s Amazon lost 121 million acres of rainforest between 1985 and 2024. Satellite images studied by researchers found that the rainforest has shrunk by the size of Spain in the last 40 years!

The concerning data shared on Monday further revealed that the Amazon rainforest is approaching a critical tipping point. As per Bruno Ferreira, a researcher at MapBiomas, they have found that if an additional 20–25% of Amazon’s vegetation is lost, the ecosystem may no longer be able to sustain itself as a rainforest, raising alarms about irreversible damage.

Including other vegetation types, the Amazon rainforest has lost 13% of its native vegetation between 1985 and 2024. “When too much vegetation is lost, the rain cycle is disrupted, and large areas tend to transform into drier savannas,” the study revealed.

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back!

Some reports suggest that deforestation in Brazil had slowed down to a great extent after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to office in 2023. This celebration did not last long after a historic drought-fueled forest fire in the Amazon region. Between August 2024 and July 2025, there was a 4% increase noted in deforestation because of these forest fires.

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Brazil is home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest, which spans nine countries, and is famously known as the lungs of the earth. The loss of such a massive forest area is alarming and concerning.

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