Researchers from IIT Kharagpur, Calcutta University, and the University of Western Ontario found that tropical rainforests, including those in the Western Ghats and the Amazon, show resilience to climate warming, which could allow them to endure future temperature rises. Their study analyzed tropical rainforest fossils from Gujarat’s Vastan coal mines, dating back to the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) about 56 million years ago. During this time, global CO₂ levels rose drastically, leading to extreme temperatures above 40°C. Despite the warming, increased rainfall helped maintain these rainforests through a “rainfall-buffered temperature” effect, which balanced the temperature and supported biodiversity. This study suggests that rainforests may adapt to changing climates, but only if conditions like rainfall remain supportive. Lead researcher Anindya Sarkar highlighted that these findings help understand how rainforests might cope with future climate challenges.

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