The Greenest Year in Over Two Decades Came in 2020 — All Because Humans Did One Thing Right

Climate activists made sure the world knew about the scorching temperatures last year, ruling 2024 as the hottest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). But very few may be privy to the Earth’s greenest year in two decades–that was four years ago, in 2020. Amid the pandemic, the worldwide lockdown brought human activity to a minimum enabling the natural world to take over. A new study marked 2020 as the greenest year between 2001 and 2020, as published in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment. 

The researchers assessed modern satellite observations through the decades to propose the conclusion. Yulong Zhang, a researcher in the Division of Earth and Climate Science at Duke University, explained the significance of terrestrial vegetation in regulating the climate during that period. “Terrestrial vegetation, like trees and shrubs, take up carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, so they can offer a natural climate-warming solution,” the lead author stated. The study focused on certain factors like vegetation density and plant health when investigating the two decades of satellite data. The trends posed a stark contrast against the year 2020 but not only because of limited human activity and lower levels of pollution. 

The experts found that the lockdown only boosted the net greenery to an extent whereas one human-induced factor among other natural ones was largely responsible for the green surge that year. “Although short-term air quality improvements and reduced disturbances slightly boosted greenness in lockdown regions, these effects faded quickly and were further counteracted by natural climate variability as the year progressed,” Zhang noted. Despite low industrial activity, the carbon dioxide levels and global temperatures increased, in addition to reforestation efforts particularly in India and China, per the study. 

“China and India were massive green hotspots, thanks to tree planting, land restoration, and agricultural management efforts,” said co-author Tong Qiu of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. The replantation was complemented by heavy rainfall in 2019 and 2020 further encouraging vegetation growth in tropical regions. The altered weather patterns were influenced by natural events like La Nina and the Indian Ocean Dipole, the researcher said. Climate warming due to elevated CO2 levels was beneficial for colder regions. The warmth resulted in a prolonged growing season in boreal forests and enabled the vegetation to flourish and expand. 

However, scientists are not very optimistic about the environmental gains during this period as they fear the continuation of degrading events like water shortage, wildfires, climate crises, and reckless human perturbance could easily reverse the gains. Co-author Wenhong Li of the Nicholas School said, “If that happens, we may see an acceleration of the ongoing climate warming.” Earth’s evident response to the shifting environmental conditions during the pandemic indicates how active efforts like habitat restoration, reforestation, and reduced air pollution can help tackle the current alarming rates of the climate crisis. 

While the gains were somewhat linked to the worldwide shutdown, it was directly related to the conscious human efforts at the time combined with environmental processes providing an opportunity for the planet to restore a part of what had been lost due to continued degradation. Following the study’s positive results, scientists are now keen to delve deeper into the phenomenon with the help of advanced technologies and new strategies developed by international collaborations.