Protect Rainforests from Extreme Weather
Climate change is making extreme weather worse.
2024 brought with it 24 climate catastrophes costing at least $1 billion, each. This summer was the hottest on record for the second year in a row. On October 29, abnormal dryness and drought affected over 78 percent of the US population—the highest percentage in 25 years.
These record-breaking weather events have ripple effects around the world. For farmers and forest communities, our frontline defenders against climate change, maintaining their means of survival is becoming an increasingly difficult task in the face of drought, storms, and extreme heat.
2024 is on track to be the hottest on record.
Widespread deforestation and slash-and-burn clearing of land have intensified wildfires, creating a devastating vicious cycle that accelerates climate change.
When tropical forests and rainforests are destroyed, they release previously sequestered carbon back into the atmosphere, which drives the engine of runaway climate change. The land becomes more susceptible to damage from extreme weather events—which occur more and more frequently every year. These damaged forests are then primed to burn when fires happen, leading to uncontrollable destruction—and the cycle continues.