Raymond Pierrehumbert member picture

Raymond Pierrehumbert

Professor, University of Oxford

Expertise: Planetary climate
Inaccurate
  • Climate
Posted on:  2021-04-09

Deserts cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation to space; vegetated areas have an overall warming effect, so planting trees in deserts doesn’t necessarily cool the planet

Claim:

"Deserts are heat producers, reflecting around 60% to 70% of the solar energy that falls on them straight back into the atmosphere."; "If we want to do something about global warming, we have to do something about deserts."

Source: The Guardian, Steve Rose, Ties Van der Hoeven, 2021-03-20