Recently, Prof. Lin Xiaopei’s team (Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, OUC) has made new progress in its study of the impact of global warming on the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and related climate effects. On August 19, Nature Climate Change published the research outcome online. 

The relationship between global warming and extreme weather events has drawn increasing attention from climate researchers. ITCZ, a narrow zone located above the equator, characterized by low pressure, strong convection, and intense precipitation. The Atlantic part of ITCZ has significant climatic effects on neighboring countries and regions. It serves an important regulating role in the climatic conditions, water cycle and ecosystem of the Amazon, the lungs of the earth. In recent years, rapid changes in the global climate have led to frequent severe droughts and wildfires in the Amazon rainforest, posing a serious challenge to the stability of the global ecosystem.

In this study, the team pointed out that extreme oscillations in the Atlantic ITCZ, have resulted in severe droughts in the Amazon in the rainy season and floods in the northern part of South America during the dry season. Using the latest coupling model, the team found that global warming has doubled the frequency of extreme oscillation in the Atlantic ITCZ (Figure 1), and the rapid warming of the tropical North Atlantic is a hotbed for extreme oscillations. The study suggests that global warming will lead to more extreme droughts in the Amazon (Figure 2), posing a daunting challenge to world’s climate and ecosystems. 

Translated by Piao Simeng

Edited by Xu Derong, Yu Hong