Scientific news in small doses

A few milligrams of all the scientific news of the week.

Soon the dance of the rain to save the forests?

This is called a vicious circle. A recent study published in the journal Nature came to confirm what climate models predicted: the amount of rain falling on the forests that have been cut down is decreasing. Basically, the absence of trees decreases the humidity in the air, which results in less precipitation. However, a drier climate may increase the risk of forest fires and affect nearby areas where trees have not yet been cut. A situation that would further reduce the amount of precipitation in these regions. If rainfall continues to decline at the same rate as forests are cut down, total deforestation would lead to a 10% or 20% drop in rainfall in affected areas, researchers at the University of Leeds, UK, estimate.

Quiz

Can forest fires affect the ozone layer?

According to a study published in the journal Nature, the wildfires in Australia in 2019 and 2020 depleted the ozone layer by 3% to 5% in 2020. Basically, the smoke from these fires activates molecules that destroy the ozone layer . According to the authors, a greater frequency of forest fires could delay the recovery of the ozone layer. Remember that at the beginning of the year, the United Nations announced that the holes in the ozone layer would be reduced within about forty years.

The number

171 trillion

This is the amount of plastic pieces floating on the surface of the oceans, according to a recent estimate by the 5 Gyres Institute, a non-governmental organization specializing in research on plastic pollution. A number that could triple by 2040 if nothing is done to stem the problem, according to the organization.

When drought defeats empires

The drought could well be the cause of the decline of the Hittite kingdom, one of the most powerful in the Middle East during the 2^e millennium BC. This is at least the conclusion of a recent study published in the journal Nature. According to a team of American researchers, an “unusually severe” drought in Anatolia may have been a tipping point in the collapse of the kingdom. In particular, three years of drought have considerably affected crop yields, causing famine among the population, which has also led to a social and political crisis. In addition to a massive desertion of soldiers from the Hittite army, the absence of harvests for three years undermined the taxation system.

Fewer and fewer native plants in England

England and Ireland have lost half of their native plants in the past 20 years, according to the latest report from the Botanical Society of England and Ireland. Climate change and agricultural practices are believed to be the main causes of this decline. This loss of biodiversity could have serious consequences for native insects, warn the scientists, who call for concrete measures to correct the situation.