A new report titled “Teleconnections among Tipping Elements in the Earth System” was published in the Nature Climate Change journal. The report studied the direct link between deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and temperature changes in Tibet, which is located over 15,000 km away. The findings concluded that there are no borders in the fight against the climate crisis and the need for countries to cooperate towards the international goal.
Tipping Points in the Earth System
- A tipping point is a threshold beyond which significant and irreversible changes occur in a specific region.
- The Amazon rainforest is considered a tipping point and even small alterations to this ecosystem could lead to major changes to the planet.
- The Paris Agreement calls for limiting warming to below 2°C and below 1.5°C as a long-term goal to prevent the attainment of climate tipping points.
Potential Effects of Deforestation in the Amazon
- Experts from Beijing Normal University studied the long-term ramifications of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
- The report found that the Amazon region is an important Earth system element that could affect other parts of the world.
- Logging, road construction, and warming are already stressing the Amazon rainforest and will likely do so even more in the future.
Teleconnections among Tipping Elements
- The report analyzed global climate data from 1979 to 2019 to understand the relationship between tipping elements.
- The researchers adopted a climate network approach to understand the global impacts of the Amazon rainforest.
- The study concluded that rising temperatures in the Amazon correlated with rising temperatures in Tibet and the West Antarctic ice sheet.
Impact on Distant Regions
The report found that when it rained more in the Amazon, Tibet and the West Antarctic ice sheet received less precipitation. The research also detected a pronounced propagation pathway over more than 20,000 km from southern Africa to Tibet, which lasted about two weeks. The study used climate computer simulations to comprehend the potential modifications to long-distance linkages caused by global warming. The report found a positive correlation between temperature changes in the Amazon and Tibet. The researchers were surprised by the strong link between climate extremes in the Amazon and Tibet. The study highlights the need for international cooperation in the fight against the climate crisis and the importance of protecting the Earth’s climate systems.
