A study published in Geophysical Research Letters explains how scientists used tree rings from larch trees in Central Asia to reconstruct temperatures in Mongolia going back as far as 1269 C.E.

And in 800 years of temperature data from those tree rings, the study confirms that summer temperatures in the region are the warmest ever, starting in the 1990s. According to the press release: Central Asia is one of the fastest-warming places on the planet. In just the past 15 years, summer temperatures have warmed 1.59 degrees C, or nearly 3 degrees F — almost three times the global average rate. During the same period, the region has suffered through extreme and extended droughts.

And the region is expected to see temperatures rise another 3 to 6 degrees C by the end of the 21st century. With more droughts coming and livestock losses increasing, Mongolia’s mostly agrarian society and its ecosystem are desperately threatened by climate change.

So while Thwaites Glacier’s melting may not be entirely due to global warming, rising temperatures are still a real and valid threat, and we need to find ways to either combat and reverse climate change or help these threatened communities adapt and change to cope with the new climate.

More Information

Columbia University press release

“Accelerated Recent Warming and Temperature Variability Over the Past Eight Centuries in the Central Asian Altai From Blue Intensity in Tree Rings,” N. K. Davi et al., 2021 July 26, Geophysical Research Letters