Amazon rainforest and other ecosystems could collapse ‘very soon’, researchers warn
Jonathan WattsGlobal environment editor
@jonathanwattsThu 22 Jun 2023 12.15 EDT
Ecological collapse is likely to start sooner than previously believed, according to a new study that models how tipping points can amplify and accelerate one another.
Based on these findings, the authors warn that more than a fifth of ecosystems worldwide, including the Amazon rainforest, are at risk of a catastrophic breakdown within a human lifetime.
“It could happen very soon,” said Prof Simon Willcock of Rothamsted Research, who co-led the study. “We could realistically be the last generation to see the Amazon.”
The research, which waspublished on Thursdayin Nature Sustainability,is likely to generate a heated debate. Compared with the long-established and conclusively proven link between fossil fuels and global heating, the science of tipping points and their interactions is relatively undeveloped.
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