Amazon drought signals wider dangers
Last year, 2023, was the hottest year on record, with one dataset finding temperatures 1.54ºC hotter than pre-industrial levels. 2023 also brought the harshest drought in the history of the Amazon rainforest; an early sign that we may have triggered a major climate tipping point. The Amazon is one of the world’s largest terrestrial carbon sinks. Covering an area equivalent in size to the USA, it is estimated to contain 123 billion tonnes of carbon. As the forest dies it releases this carbon further accelerating global heating. A 2021 study in Nature by Luciana Gatti and colleagues found that...