India, May 7 -- Nearly two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest could turn into degraded forest or savannah-like ecosystems if global warming reaches 1.5-1.9degC above pre-industrial levels and deforestation rises to 22%-28% of the region, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

The findings come months after 196 countries at the United Nations climate conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, agreed to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030 under Article 5 of the Paris Agreement.

The study said that without additional deforestation, such large-scale drying of the Amazon would likely occur only at much higher warming levels of around 3...