Browse Articles

Wind energy is helping to mitigate climate change. But now a study shows that climate change may make wind power less reliable.

Solid waste disposal is a major source of anthropogenic methane, yet estimating these emissions is difficult. Here the authors use satellite data to assess emissions from high-emitting landfills and find that transforming open sites to sanitary landfills could offer a large mitigation potential.

Prolonged low wind speeds can lead to a strong reduction in wind power generation. Here, the authors show that such wind drought events become more frequent and extended under global warming, threatening energy security in some regions.

The authors use a machine learning approach and in situ pigment samples to identify summer shifts (1997–2023) in the abundance and composition of Antarctic phytoplankton. While smaller phytoplankton groups generally increased, diatom chlorophyll a broadly decreased, with putative impacts on food webs and the carbon sink.

Sublethal impacts of heat on reproductive outcomes are beginning to be considered as important drivers of population persistence under climate change. Now, research shows that the impact of transient heat on antipredator behaviours may be an underappreciated source of variation that could have far-reaching implications for survival.

Land stores vast amounts of carbon, and how much of it is released as temperatures rise could accelerate climate change. Now research shows ecosystems are more adaptable to climate warming than previously thought, potentially reducing future carbon–climate feedbacks.

Terrestrial ecosystems are expected to release more carbon under warming due to temperature-driven increases in ecosystem respiration. Here the authors use eddy covariance data to show that respiration may adapt to warmer temperatures and carbon losses may be lower than expected.

Global datasets of surface temperature and sea surface temperature (SST) are routinely used in climate change studies. Here the authors show that while surface temperature datasets closely agree, four main SST datasets show substantial variation, with implications for their application.

The authors evaluate heritable genetic variation in thermal tolerance in a common reef-building coral. They show widespread heritable genetic variation, which is strongly associated with marine heatwave-imposed selective pressure, suggesting adaptation to climate warming.

Rapid warming of the global ocean and amplified Arctic warming will alter the ocean biogeochemistry. Here the authors show that Atlantic water inflow, and the subsequent subduction and circulation, is reducing dissolved oxygen in the Arctic due to reduced solubility with increased temperatures.

Urban development policies, designed to improve city resilience, could unintentionally increase the exposure to climate risk. This Comment discusses the impact of misaligned incentives, miscalculated benefits and costs, and overlooked behavioural responses on policy outcomes, as well as future directions.

Adaptation efforts require responsive and adaptive institutions. Some progress has been made, but more systematic institutional adaptation is needed given the growing climate hazards.

Deltas are complex and are among the most vulnerable landforms under climate change. Studying them collectively highlights common stressors that drive their most significant challenges. A holistic conceptual framing of a delta and its feeding river basin is fundamental to effective adaptation planning.

Ice-sheet surface melting impacts sea level and ice dynamics. Now two studies provide a wake-up call for monitoring melt in Antarctica.

This study provides a continent-wide assessment of surface meltwater area in Antarctica between 2006 and 2021, highlighting recent increases in magnitude and variability in East Antarctica, with indications that the ice-sheet surface is becoming increasingly prone to further meltwater ponding.

Surface melt is an important component of ice sheet dynamics, but for many remote regions the melt rates are mainly known from models. Here the authors present satellite observations of melt rates for Greenland and Antarctica, showing that East Antarctica has become a melting hotspot.

Extreme heat poses a growing threat to vulnerable urban populations, and the existing heat early warning system usually operates at population level. Pairing emerging individualized and population early warning systems could directly and meaningfully extend protection to those most in need.

Literature produced inconsistent findings regarding the links between extreme weather events and climate policy support across regions, populations and events. This global study offers a holistic assessment of these relationships and highlights the role of subjective attribution.

Growing wildfire threats require governing institutions to adapt their responses for effective management, yet institutional adaptation remains unexplored. This study reveals increasingly complex task environments for institutions managing wildfire incidents in the USA over the period 1999–2020.

The authors generate ~1-km² growth curves for aboveground live carbon in regrowing forests, globally. They show that maximum carbon removal rates can vary by 200-fold spatially and with age, with the greatest rates estimated at about 30 ± 12 years, highlighting the role of secondary forests in carbon cycling.