Deforestation, land use change intensify global heatwaves, study says

Deforestation and rapid land development are sharply intensifying heatwaves beyond the effects of global warming, new research reveals.

The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, found that deforestation and unplanned land use act as a "silent amplifier" of heat, worsening heatwaves beyond greenhouse-gas effects, the Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for 21st Century Weather said Wednesday.

The findings are directly relevant to Australia's current climate challenges, including recent heatwaves that impacted much of the country in January, coupled with bushfires, said the study's lead author Oluwafemi Adeyeri, a center research fellow based at the Australian National University.

Researchers showed that removing vegetation strips landscapes of their natural cooling system.

"This amplifies heat locally, and when combined with humidity, it produces more dangerous and longer-lasting heatwaves," Adeyeri said.

Researchers used artificial intelligence-assisted climate modelling to analyze Africa but found universal physical mechanisms that apply directly to Australia where rapid development and vegetation loss are reshaping local climates.

The findings showed that heatwaves in some African regions could last up to 12 times longer by 2100 if emissions and land degradation continue.

But mitigation remains possible, as curbing emissions and protecting natural vegetation could reduce heatwave severity by about 30 percent, the study found.