Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing?
Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing?
The sudden collapse of carbon sinks was not factored into climate models – and could rapidly accelerate global heating
In 2023, the hottest year ever recorded, preliminary findings by an international team of researchers show the amount of carbon absorbed by land has temporarily collapsed. The final result was that forest, plants and soil – as a net category – absorbed almost no carbon.
I don't know how any of this works so this is going to sound stupid and it probably is, but anecdotally the shrubs and trees in my garden just simply failed to grow this year. They put out the leaves from the over winter buds and then just sat there doing nothing until early September a half-hearted start at some new growth before it got cold again. Very slow year all around in spite of the weather not seeming super different. Probably not the same thing, but in my mind this demonstrates how a nice green landscape might look ok but just not be doing it's job for inscrutable reasons.
Uh oh