Climate extremes in Amazon rainforest directly impact those in Tibetan Plateau

Scientists have issued a warning that extreme climatic conditions in the Amazon rainforest may have a direct impact on those in the Tibetan Plateau.

Scientists on Thursday said that the Himalayan region crucial for the water security of millions of people was close to a potentially disastrous "tipping point".

Notably, the Tibetan Plateau is a source of supply water needs of almost two billion people across South Asia, Southeast Asia and China.

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Areas including, tropical forests in the Amazon basin can be submerged in water as experts have noted that melting polar ice sheets could cause metres of sea-level rise.

Scientists in China, Europe and Israel reported in Nature Climate Change earlier this month that the changes linked to the climate in the Amazon basin have knock-on effects on the Tibetan Plateau 20,000 kilometres (12,500 miles) away.

Co-author Jurgen Kurths from Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research: "We've been surprised to see how strongly climate extremes in the Amazon are connected to climate extremes in Tibet."

During the research, the scientists have found that temperatures rise in Tibet when it gets warmer in the Amazon and snowfall decreases in the Himalayan region when rain increases in the South American rainforest.

The news agency AFP reported that the researchers used global near-surface temperature data over the last 40 years to map out a pathway of climate links.

One-third of Amazon 'degraded'

Another study researchers said Thursday that more than one-third of the Amazon rainforest may have been degraded by human activity and drought. The researchers suggested that action is needed to protect the critically important ecosystem.

(With inputs from agencies)

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