A recent study published in the journal Nature revealed that global temperatures have become so hot that some tropical leaves would no longer be able to conduct photosynthesis.
 　An international team of scientists from the US, Australia, and Brazil conducted the research. The study said the photosynthesis process in tropical trees begins to fail at about 46.7°C on average. When leaves get too hot, the proteins that convert light energy into sugars stop working.
 　Their findings show that the average temperature of forest canopies peaks at 34°C. In some cases, certain areas even exceed 40°C. Currently, 0.01% of leaves have already surpassed the critical point. An expert warned if we do nothing about it, we would see massive death of leaves and trees.
 　Tropical forests are an important carbon sink and help regulate the global climate. They cover roughly 12% of the planet and hold more than half of the world’s species, which is why the prospect of tree death raises such alarm bells.

　最近發表在《自然》期刊上的一項研究顯示，全球氣溫熱到爆，導致一些熱帶森林的樹葉無法再進行光合作用。
　該研究是由來自美國、澳洲和巴西的科學家共組的一個國際團隊所執行。研究發現，熱帶雨林的葉子溫度到達攝氏46.7度時，光合作用就會開始失效。因為葉子如果太熱，將光能轉化為糖的蛋白質就會停止工作。
　研究結果顯示，熱帶雨林的樹冠平均溫度最高是攝氏34度。有些地區的樹冠甚至超過攝氏40度。目前已有0.01%的葉子超過了這個溫度的臨界點。專家警告，如果我們對此毫無作為，將會看到大批樹葉和樹木死亡。
　熱帶森林是很重要的碳吸儲庫，能幫助調節全球氣候。目前熱帶森林覆蓋地球約12%的面積，擁有世界一半以上的物種，這也是為什麼樹木大量枯死的可能性會引發這麼大的擔憂和警覺。