Extreme heat makes farmers clear more forests to plant crops

New research shows that extreme heat directly causes more deforestation. When crops fail from heat, farmers clear more forests to plant new ones, especially in tropical regions.

Many assumed that when climate change hit crop yields, farmers would adapt by changing what they grow or where. This paper shows the opposite: farmers expand their fields into forests to make up for lost productivity. This means climate change directly drives more deforestation, especially in vulnerable tropical areas.