New satellite-based analysis has revealed that the world’s tropical forests—key ecological bulwarks against climate change—were lost at an unprecedented rate in 2024.
According to researchers, approximately 67,000 square kilometers of undisturbed, old-growth tropical forest were destroyed last year. That figure, equivalent to the size of Ireland or nearly 18 football fields vanishing every minute, marks the fastest rate of loss since records began.
For the first time, wildfires overtook agricultural deforestation as the leading cause of this dramatic decline, with the Amazon bearing the brunt amid an era-defining drought. The findings suggest that increasingly severe climate events are exacerbating forest degradation on a global scale.
In contrast, South East Asia saw some encouraging progress, where targeted government interventions appeared to slow the pace of forest destruction.
These forests act as vast carbon reservoirs, locking away hundreds of billions of tonnes of carbon in their biomass and soils. Their rapid degradation poses significant risks to global climate stability and biodiversity.
Experts are increasingly warning that vital ecosystems like the Amazon may be nearing an irreversible tipping point, where natural recovery may no longer be possible.
“We’re seeing clearer signs that this tipping point concept is not just theoretical anymore,” said Professor Matthew Hansen, co-director of the GLAD Laboratory at the University of Maryland, the institution behind the satellite data. “It’s becoming an ecological reality.”
Professor Matthew Hansen has voiced serious concern over new satellite findings that reveal alarming forest loss trends, describing the data as “frightening” in scale and implication.
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He cautioned that the Amazon may be heading toward a transformational shift—a process some scientists refer to as “savannisation.” In such a scenario, lush rainforests could degrade into drier, savanna-like landscapes, unable to support the same ecological functions or biodiversity.
“While this remains a theoretical framework,” Hansen explained, “it’s becoming increasingly credible as we examine recent trends.”
Adding weight to these fears, an independent study released just last week projected the potential collapse of major parts of the Amazon rainforest should global temperatures rise beyond 1.5°C, the limit set by the Paris Agreement. The research highlighted that surpassing this threshold could trigger massive forest dieback, transforming one of Earth’s most critical carbon sinks into a carbon source.
This shift would not only devastate ecosystems that harbor some of the richest biodiversity on the planet—it could also disrupt the global climate system.
Historically, the Amazon has functioned as a natural ally in the fight against climate change, absorbing more carbon dioxide than it emitted. But with mounting pressures from rising temperatures, deforestation, and increasingly intense fire seasons, that balance is on the verge of collapse.