7 Amazing Facts About Amazon RainForest And Why We Need To Preserve It

Amazon Rainforest covers an enormous 6.7 million square kilometres. Spanning 8 countries and one overseas territory in South America and representing an area twice the size of India – or roughly 28 times the side of the UK

All Pics Credit: National Geographic

Amazon is thought to be home to 10% of known species on earth and every new species of animal or plant is discovered in this rainforest

It is estimated that there could be nearly 400 billion trees standing in the Amazon. A single large tree can release over 1,000 litres of water in 24 hours – enough to fill 10 average-sized bathtubs

An estimated 150-200 billion tons of carbon are stored in the Amazon’s forests and soils. This is absolutely vital in fighting the climate crisis and limiting the rise of global temperatures

Despite its importance, every minute an area of Amazon Rainforest roughly equivalent to 5 football pitches is cut down. The main causes of deforestation are cattle ranching and agriculture, the building of roads and other infrastructure, illegal logging, mining, and land grabbing

Current figures suggest approximately 17% of the Amazon Rainforest has been lost already. This is an area of the size of France

Amazon Forest is home to 47 million people, including more than 2 million indigenous people; which is more than anywhere else on Earth. In picture: Yanomamo Youth- Indigenous communities to the Amazon rainforest is the Yanomamo. The Yanomamo live in villages throughout Northern Brazil and South-Eastern Venezuela