Do trees make rain?

While reading this post on LinkedIn my question did raise again!

“It is one of those issues that deeply occupies my mind: the deforestation of the rainforest and its correlation with the shifting of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). This is a matter where the chaos theory of the famous butterfly effect, exemplified by the Morpho butterfly’s wing flapping, could potentially trigger a storm in the Northern Hemisphere.

Alternatively, and perhaps more likely, the restoration of the rainforest could impact the balance and equilibrium within the world’s largest cloud belt. It also represents a quest for the question my geography teacher presented to me on an unguarded moment during a ski vacation high in the Alps: “Is reforesting the Sahel a wise idea?” Since that evening in 1994, I have often reflected on that statement.

Personally, I have taken it upon myself to support the admirable work of lignaverda-ngo by sponsoring a few trees in the Great Green Wall. I see too many connections between the disappearing forests and the “thinning” of the ITCZ. This also contributes to the scale and magnitude of the Hadley cell circulation. It involves the ascent of warm air at the equator, the collision of this rising air mass with the tropopause, and its expansion towards the tropics where the air descends. At ground level, air is drawn toward the equator.

But aren’t the jet streams the locations where these Hadley cells descend? Isn’t the deviating force and volume of these cells one of the driving factors behind their meandering? And aren’t these stronger meanderings partly responsible for the peculiar weather phenomena, such as the omega block, which has become quite trendy nowadays?

Well, there’s certainly plenty of material and food for thought!”