A third of the Amazon rainforest is struggling to recover from drought due to climate change

The new study found that vast swathes of the ecosystem in the Amazon — which had the capacity to bounce back from seasonal droughts  — is degrading towards a point of no return due to a succession of ever more intense extreme weather events. Picture: Erika Berengue/PA 

More than a third of the Amazon rainforest is struggling to recover from drought, according to a new study that warns of a “critical slowing down” of this globally important ecosystem.

The signs of weakening resilience raise concerns that the world’s greatest tropical forest — and biggest terrestrial carbon sink — is degrading towards a point of no return.