Central-Northern Amazon Experiences Fastest Surge in Climate Extremes, Outpacing Average Warming
A new study led by researchers at Lancaster University, in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund UK and over 50 international scientists, reveals that the central-northern Amazon is now the epicenter of the region's most rapid climate extremes. This area, previously considered insulated due to its intact forest cover, is experiencing extreme dry-season temperatures rising at least 0.75°C per decade, totaling over 3.22°C since 1981, across 10% of the Amazon basin. This rate significantly surpasses the average Amazon temperature increase of 0.21°C per decade, which aligns with global warming trends. The research utilized high-resolution temperature and rainfall data from satellites and local weather stations, dividing the Amazon into 11km grid cells to analyze dry season conditions for each specific area. They also developed a new water deficit measure accounting for temperature's effect on water loss, modeling these factors from 1981 to 2023. The study differentiated between average change (central tendenc...
