Study Confirms That Warming Impacts Of Brazilian Deforestation Far Larger Than Previously Thought

[hatrack]

Deforestation has a far greater impact on regional temperatures than previously believed, according to a new study of the Brazilian Amazon that shows agricultural businesses would be among the biggest beneficiaries of forest conservation. The research has important political implications because farmers in Amazonian states have, until now, led the way in forest destruction on the assumption that they will make money by clearing more land.

The new research highlights the other side of the picture. It shows the agricultural heartland of Mato Grosso, where crops are already suffering from drought and extreme heat, would be just over half a degree celsius hotter by 2050 if deforestation continued at the rapid rate of recent years. The paper, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrated Amazon deforestation causes warming at distances up to 60 miles (100km) away. The greater the forest clearance, the higher the temperature. This is in addition to the wider climate impact of global heating.

Dominick Spracklen of the University of Leeds said the average tree had a cooling effect equivalent to two to three 2.5kW air conditioners working at full power every hour of every day. This works through evapotranspiration, which he said was very similar to the sweat humans produce to lower body temperature. He said the effect spread wider than anyone had realised.

“We always thought this might be happening, but the extent is bigger than I would have thought,” he said. “More and more, we are demonstrating the big benefits the forests bring to surrounding regions. For farmers, they bring cooler air and more rainfall. Hopefully putting numbers on these benefits will help to persuade a broader set of people to protect forest areas.”

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/30/deforestation-has-big-impact-on-regional-temperatures-study-of-brazilian-amazon-shows

[Think. Again.]

1. Yep...

...each and every prediction of the harm being done by fossil fuels always comes out worse than expected.

I've read some opinions that a lot of researchers are afraid of being honest in their initial findings due to the backlash they expect the fossil fuel industry to unleash, so we can pretty much assume that these reports are always written up very conservatively.