How does deforestation affect air?

Forests sequester carbon. Deforestation means the timber may be used and eventually converted to carbon dioxide, or left to rot, which also means that it is converted to carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Either way, deforestation contributes to the global warming process.

As the average global temperature rises, we begin to see changes in the world's climate. Sea levels rise, beach erosion becomes more serious, coastal areas are gradually inundated, drought and flood patterns become more severe, and more intense storms are experienced.

Deforestation contributes less to these processes than do the use of coal and oil, or the manufacture of cement, but that contribution is still significant.