A new study published in Nature Climate Change reveals that increased storm activity and drier air are accelerating biomass turnover in the Amazon. This process shortens the time carbon remains stored in vegetation, potentially weakening the forest's role as a global carbon sink. Researchers used satellite imagery and machine learning to find that convective storms have a more significant impact on tree mortality than drought alone. Under high emissions scenarios, carbon residence time could drop by 15 percent by the end of the century.
