Global warming is the primary cause of the drought in the Amazon
Scientists have determined that the primary cause of the drought in the Amazon last year was not El Niño, but global warming driven by human activities.
AA
In a report published by the international "World Weather Attribution" initiative, which brings together climate scientists, it was stated that while El Niño and climate change played a role in the decrease in rainfall in the Amazon, the fundamental cause of the drought was the rise in global temperatures.
IF TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO RISE, LOW RAINFALL AND HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE INEVITABLE
Using computer simulations to prepare the report, scientists compared the actual events with a scenario in their program that excluded the factor of climate change. Speaking at the conference, one of the report's authors, Friederike Otto, stated, "If global temperatures were 1.2 degrees lower, the probability of climate events that currently occur once every 50 years would decrease. If we continue to increase temperatures, we will witness the combination of low rainfall and high temperatures more frequently."
Regina Rodrigues, another author of the report, said, "If we protect them, forests will continue to function as the world's largest terrestrial carbon sink, but if we cannot curb human emissions and deforestation, the massive amounts of carbon dioxide released will make our fight against climate change even more difficult."
2023 WAS RECORDED AS THE "HOTTEST YEAR ON EARTH"
In 2023, which was recorded as the "hottest year on Earth," communities living in the arid Amazon basin were in need of water and food aid as they were unable to continue their agricultural and fishing activities.
The rise in water temperature in Lake Tefé in Brazil to 39.1 degrees Celsius caused the deaths of 150 endangered river dolphins and pink dolphins.