During El Niño, the tropics emit more carbon dioxide

The phenomenon creates warmer, drier conditions in some tropical regions that mimic future climate change

illustration of Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2

LOFTY LOOK  NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (shown in an artist’s illustration) launched in 2014 and is giving scientists an unprecedented peek into how carbon moves between land, atmosphere, and oceans on Earth.

JPL-NASA

The tropics of Asia, Africa and South America all puffed out more carbon dioxide during the strong 2015–2016 El Niño than during the 2011 La Niña, new satellite data show.