Global warming is accelerating faster than expected, partly due to natural factors
This is explained in the study ‘Projected amplification of global warming by warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions’, due to an effect known as feedback
2' min read
2' min read
The effects of ongoing climate change are now widely recognised: rising temperatures, extreme weather events, melting glaciers and water crises. All these consequences are due to excessive emissions of polluting gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, produced by human activities.
However, there are also emissions released by nature itself: these are known as ‘warming-induced emissions’ (Wie), greenhouse gases produced by natural sources as a result of rising temperatures.
This type of emission forms part of climate feedback loops, that is, the chain reactions in which an initial change in the climate triggers reactions in the planet’s natural processes. There are two types of reaction: positive, if they amplify global warming, and negative, if they have the opposite effect.
A group of researchers from the non-profit organisation Spark Climate Solutions has studied the phenomenon of WIE: their research, “Projected amplification of global warming by warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions” (“The projected increase in global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions generated by global warming itself”) analysed the impact of naturally occurring greenhouse gas emissions on rising temperatures.
How feedback works
The researchers analysed three natural events caused by global warming: the thawing of permafrost, the permanently frozen ground; the intensification of forest fires; and the warming of lakes and wetlands, which fuels the process of anaerobic digestion, leading to the breakdown of organic matter. These events produce methane and carbon dioxide, which are released into the surrounding environment.
