SAO PAULO, Oct. 23 -- 2024, Brazil's Amazon emitted an annual average of 1.17 billion tons more carbon dioxide than it absorbed, according to a study published on Thursday by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation.

The imbalance is adding to global warming and eroding the rainforest's role as the planet's most important tropical climate regulator.

The study, also published in the British scientific journal Nature, showed fires released approximately 1.47 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, compared to an absorption capacity of about 300 million tons per year.

The research, led by specialists from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE), revealed that drastically reducing fires, eliminating deforestation, and restoring for...