Global greening continued into 2023, reaching near-record values that were dominated by regional enhancement in the mid-western USA, Europe, northern Australia and parts of equatorial Africa. In contrast, climatic events contributed to browning signals in Russia, Canada, Mexico and tropical drylands.
Key points
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2023 global vegetation greenness was the third highest observed in satellite records, following 2020 and 2021.
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While the greening trend continued into 2023, shorter-term variability modulates the long-term greening pace.
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Multiple extreme climatic events, in tandem with an El Niño event, markedly diminished vegetation greenness in many regions during 2023.
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This article was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41988101).
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Li, X., Wang, K., Huntingford, C. et al. Vegetation greenness in 2023. Nat Rev Earth Environ 5, 241–243 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00543-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00543-z
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