Amazon rainforest is losing its ability to absorb CO2, study finds

Ozone pollution from fires, combined with extreme heat and drought, is weakening the Amazon rainforest's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, according to new research. Forests like the Amazon absorb more than a quarter of human-caused CO2 emissions each year — over 11 billion metric tons. But in recent decades, increasingly larger areas of forest have been damaged, threatening that role.