After July 2023 was confirmed as the warmest month on record for planet Earth, a new study has shown the world's tropical forest canopies may be closer to critical high-temperature thresholds than previously known.
The research, published in Nature, combines high-resolution data from a thermal imaging instrument on the International Space Station and in situ warming experiment data from across the world's tropical forests.
It demonstrates for the first time that a small percentage of tropical leaves are already reaching, and occasionally exceeding, the temperatures at which they can no longer function. It also suggests that as climate change continues, entire canopies could die.
The study was carried out by an international team of researchers including Dr Sophie Fauset, Associate Professor in Terrestrial Ecology at the University of Plymouth.
They say their findings have serious implications because tropical forests are home to most of the world's biodiversity and are key regulators of our climate.
For the study, Dr Fauset - who has carried out work to assess leaf temperatures from the UK to Brazil, West Africa and China - contributed data showing that individual leaves could reach up to 18°C above air temperature in a Brazilian montane forest.
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