A new study looks at the consequences carbon dioxide emissions have on an atmospheric circulation pattern called the Hadley cell that has a big impact on weather across much of the world.

Highlights

• “It’s easy to think that if we reduce the CO2 concentration, the atmosphere will recover to its original state,” says Seo-Yeon Kim, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at Seoul National University. “Nature is not that simple.”

• The Hadley cell is a defining factor for many of the world’s deserts and rainforests. It moves moisture and heat between the tropics (regions closest to the equator) to the subtropics (adjacent areas further from the equator).

• To avoid the worst effects of climate change, any efforts to take CO2 out of the atmosphere are really only supplementary at best. A transition to clean energy is what can stop planet-heating pollution from building up in the first place. “Reducing emissions right now is the most important thing,” Kim says.

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