The team uses a scientifically accepted method of running computer simulations of weather events as they would have unfolded in a fictional world without global warming, and comparing those results with what really happened.
The drought in the Amazon — the world’s largest rainforest and crucial in storing away carbon dioxide that would otherwise contribute to warming — came as Earth endured the hottest year on record.
The planet is closer than ever to the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) increase since pre-industrial times that nations had hoped to stay within to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, such as deadly heat, rising seas, flooding and wildfires.
In Brazil’s Tefé Lake, water temperatures soared to 39.1 degrees Celsius (102.4 Fahrenheit), likely causing the deaths of more than 150 pink and tucuxi river dolphins, two endangered species.
Luiz Candido, a meteorologist with Brazil´s National Institute for Amazon Research, which didn’t participate in the study, said the findings support the scientific consensus that climate variations in the region have escalated to extreme conditions.
But Candido also argued that interactions among the oceans, the atmosphere, and the forest are complex and it’s not possible yet to separate the impacts of natural climate variability from those of human-induced global warming.
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