A recent study, outcome of the research under the Carbon-RO1: NRT Extremes project, highlights a significant decline in the land carbon sink in 2023, a year marked by record-breaking global temperatures and severe climate events.
The research team found that the CO₂ growth rate soared to 3.37 parts per million (ppm) at Mauna Loa Observatory, a sharp increase from previous years, despite only a minor rise in fossil fuel emissions. This surge suggests a weakened capacity of natural carbon sinks—particularly on land and in the oceans—to absorb atmospheric CO₂. Using data from Earth observation, dynamic vegetation models, and fire emission analyses, the authors attribute much of the decline to droughts in the Amazon, fires in Canada, and the El Niño conditions that gripped tropical areas.
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