The Amazon rainforest in the Amazonas - Earth.com

The Amazon rainforest in the Amazonas

03-20-2021


The Amazon rainforest in the Amazonas Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency features the Amazon rainforest in the Amazonas, the largest state in Brazil. The Amazonas is almost completely covered with forest.

According to the ESA. the image was processed using the infrared channel of the Sentinel-2 satellite which makes the dense rainforest appear in bright green. This makes it easier for scientists to perceive differences in forest cover. 

The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest covering an area of around six million square kilometers. The Amazon is home to several million species of insects, birds, plants and other wildlife.

March 21 is designated as the International Day of Forests, which seeks to raise awareness on the importance of all types of forests worldwide and the valuable services they provide.  

The UN reports that the world is losing 10 million hectares of forest each year, which accounts for 12-20 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. For the indigenous population the Amazon rainforest is important because it is their home and their culture is closely related to the forest, rivers and fauna . If you destroy the forest you also destroy all the indigenous people that are left.

Video Credit: ESA 

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

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