World Rainforest Day is celebrated by several people across the world every year on June 22. Rainforests are important for the survival of life on planet Earth. Rainforests are home to half of the world’s animal and plant species. They stabilize climate patterns and absorb carbon dioxide from our environment. However, 15 % of global carbon dioxide emissions happen due to deforestation which leads to climatic change. So, to encourage people to take action against saving rainforests, World Rainforest Day is observed.

On June 22, 2017, the first World Rainforest Day was celebrated. The event was organised by a collaboration of groups called the Rainforest Partnership. It is based in Austin, Texas and it is an international non-profit organization. It is dedicated to regenerating and protecting tropical rainforests through community-based projects in the Amazon. As people across the world are currently gearing up to celebrate World Rainforest Day; thus, here we have mentioned a few interesting facts about the planet’s ecological powerhouses.

  • We mostly know about tropical rainforests; however, there are different types of rainforests. They are also found in temperate and sub-tropical zones. Depending on geology and soils, the rainforests may have a major deal of variability even within the tropics. Thus, rainforests in some parts of Japan and in the United States receive as much rainfall as the Congo, Amazon, or Borneo.

  • In 2015, the United Nations estimated that in tropical countries the forests covered 6.8 million square miles or 1.77 billion hectares of land. So basically, the tropical forests cover 2.5 percent of Earth’s total surface area or 8 percent of its land surface.

  • The Amazon covers the world's largest rainforest. It nearly covers about 40 percent of South America. Around two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest lies within the borders of Brazil. In Central Africa's Congo Basin, the second-largest rainforest is situated and the next in New Guinea.

  • Tropical rainforests are believed to be house more than half the world's terrestrial species; although, they cover less than ten percent of Earth's landmass.

  • In the rainforest, an unusually high percentage of life is found in the trees.

  • Many products including several medicines originate from rainforests. Even foods like avocados, bananas, mangoes among others originate in rainforests.

Know we hope you know why rainforests are so diverse. And that is why we should all take a pledge to conserve the rainforests. Here’s we wish you all a Happy World Rainforest Day 2021.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2021 12:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).