A powerful earthquake in Mexico. On January 2, a magnitude-6.5 earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico, collapsing buildings, triggering landslides, and setting off thousands of aftershocks.

Cyclone winds and rain in northwest Australia. Cyclone Hayley made landfall with intense winds and heavy rain, closing roads, damaging homes, and prompting widespread flood warnings.

Flash flooding in Afghanistan. Heavy rain and snowmelt triggered sudden floods that damaged infrastructure, displaced families, and killed dozens.

Olive ridley sea turtles nesting in huge numbers along India’s east coast. Hundreds of thousands came ashore at once — one of the largest wildlife gatherings on the planet.

Wet-season life exploding in northern Australia. Monsoon rains triggered mass emergences of frogs and insects, along with breeding waterbirds across the wet tropics.

Peak monarch butterfly overwintering in central Mexico. Millions of monarchs clustered tightly in fir forests during the coldest weeks of their annual cycle.

Peak wet season dynamics. January is firmly within the wet season across much of the Amazon. Heavy, frequent rainfall raises river levels, reconnects floodplains, and reshapes access to vast areas of forest. Water is not just present — it’s moving, spreading, and reorganizing the landscape.

Explosive biological activity. With warmth, moisture, and long daylight hours, plant growth accelerates. Insects emerge in massive numbers, amphibians breed in newly flooded areas, and birds take advantage of abundant food. This is one of the most biologically productive times of the year.

The forest acts as a climate engine. Through evapotranspiration, the Amazon recycles enormous amounts of water back into the atmosphere. In January, this moisture helps fuel regional rainfall patterns far beyond the forest itself — reinforcing the Amazon’s role as a continental-scale system.

Equatorial rains with variability. January brings regular rainfall to much of the region, but unlike Amazonia, precipitation is often more spatially uneven. Some areas receive steady rain, while others experience brief dry intervals. The forest is wet — but not uniformly flooded at continental scale.

Wildlife activity is shaped by patchwork landscapes. Warm temperatures and rainfall support high biological activity, especially among insects, birds, and primates. But movement patterns are increasingly shaped by forest fragmentation. Wildlife activity concentrates in intact blocks of forest, river corridors, and protected areas.

The forest is under pressure. This forest still functions as a major carbon and biodiversity reservoir. But in January — as in every season — its ecological processes operate within a landscape influenced by logging roads, agriculture, and expanding human settlement.

Continuity versus fragmentation. The Amazon Basin remains the largest continuous tropical forest on Earth. Its rivers, canopy, and atmosphere operate at continental scale. In contrast, the Equatorial Afrotropics still hold extraordinary biodiversity — but much of it exists in a patchwork of intact forest, edges, and corridors.

Ecosystem influence at scale. Amazonia actively shapes climate beyond its borders, recycling moisture and influencing rainfall across South America. The Equatorial Afrotropics also store carbon and regulate climate — but their influence is increasingly regional rather than continental.

Human presence in the system. In both regions, people are part of the landscape — but in different ways. In Amazonia, vast intact areas still exist despite rapidly expanding human development. In the Equatorial Afrotropics, human activity is more tightly interwoven with the forest itself.