Terrestrial carbon sinks collapsed in 2023, a stark warning of climate changes to come

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Le Monde or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Land carbon sinks, primarily forests and soils, experienced a significant decline in 2023, absorbing only 1.5 to 2.6 billion metric tons of CO2 compared to 9.5 billion in 2022
• This reduction is attributed to severe droughts and large-scale wildfires in regions like the Amazon, Canada, and Siberia

🔭 The context: Land carbon sinks play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by absorbing CO2
• The drastic drop in their capacity raises concerns about accelerated climate change if such trends continue, potentially leading to a runaway effect

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The failure of natural carbon sinks to absorb expected CO2 levels could result in a faster increase in atmospheric CO2, exacerbating global warming and its associated impacts

⏭️ What's next: If this decline persists, it could lead to more severe climate changes than current models predict
• Continuous monitoring and research are crucial to understand and mitigate these changes

💬 One quote: "If this collapse were to happen again in the next few years, we risk seeing a rapid increase in CO2 and climate change beyond what the models predict." — Philippe Ciais, climatologist

📈 One stat: In 2023, land carbon sinks absorbed between 1.5 and 2.6 billion metric tons of CO2, a sharp decrease from the 9.5 billion metric tons in 2022

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