Forests and climate change

Letter March 12, 2020
Forests also help in preventing global warming.

ISLAMABAD: Forest is an important part of nature as it provides the atmosphere with clean oxygen. However the recent climate change crisis has turned things around. Last year two tragedies struck the world in the form of the amazon rainforest fire and the Australia bush fire. These fires were uncontrollable and caused great panic and loss. Thousands of acres of trees were burnt and many animals were killed. Firefighters tried their best to control the rapid spreading wildfire but were unable to do much. In the end, rain helped in stopping these fires. Forests help in maintaining the oxygen and temperature levels of the atmosphere. During photosynthesis plants release oxygen and take in carbon dioxide, thus they help by playing a significant role in cleansing the atmosphere and act as lungs for the earth.

Forests help in maintaining the oxygen cycle on the planet Earth. The water through the soil is absorbed by plants through their roots. The release of excessive water by the plant into the atmosphere in the form of water vapor is called the transpiration process. In this process water vapors condense and form clouds. Heavy clouds have more water vapor which eventually falls down as rain. All these processes come together to form the water cycle and forests play a significant role in it.

Forests also help in preventing global warming. The increase in greenhouse gas into the atmosphere results in the greenhouse effect on Earth and this effect is majorly responsible for causing the rise in global temperature. Therefore it is important to preserve and plant forests in order to fight climate change.

Sabeen Rashid

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2020.

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