Reviews & Analysis

The twenty-first century was marked by a number of extreme weather events over northern continents. Amplified warming in the Arctic region and associated changes in atmospheric dynamics may provide a clue for understanding the origin of these recent extremes.

Firmly establishing Earth's surface temperatures during a sustained episode of global warming in the Pliocene will help 'ground truth' projections of future climate based on computer simulations using global climate models.

Glacial meltwater contributions to rivers are declining in many parts of the world, but the effect of these changes on river communities remains poorly understood. Now a quantitative analysis points to the potential scale of this biodiversity problem.

Urban economic models should raise the quality of debate about planning at the metropolitan level. Now research shows how this can be done.

In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will report on the next set of future greenhouse-gas emission scenarios, offering a rational alternative pathway for avoiding dangerous climate change.

Exposure to scientific information cannot explain entirely the levels of public concern about global warming in the United States. Now research shows that US views on climate change are largely affected by the actions of political groups.

It has long been known that temperature extremes are associated with an increased risk of death. Research now directly relates future climate warming to people's lifetime.

Extreme heat can accelerate wheat aging — an effect that reduces crop yields and is underestimated in most crop models. Climate warming may, therefore, present even greater challenges to wheat production than current models predict.

The impact of climate change on economic losses from tropical cyclones is a major concern. New research shows that — like changes in population and assets — climate change may double global losses from hurricanes.

Climate change threatens crop production and food security in many parts of the world. But planned adaption may turn the negative effects of climate change on agriculture into gains.

Ecosystems regulate climate through biogeochemistry and biophysics, but current policies only recognize biogeochemical influences. A new proposal to include biophysical effects changes the climate value of ecosystems, and sets the stage to expand the suite of climate regulation services considered in global policies and carbon markets.

Identification of an enhanced centennial warming trend in ocean subtropical boundary currents has important implications for our understanding of how climate change is happening.

Fungal-based food webs of undisturbed grasslands resist and adapt to the effects of drought more than bacterial-based food webs of agricultural soils, indicating how soil biota might be able to withstand long-term climate change.

A European-wide analysis of changing species distributions shows that butterflies outrun birds in the race to move northwards in response to climate change, but that neither group keeps up with increasing temperatures.

Globally speaking, thunderstorms are small, which makes their behaviour difficult to simulate with climate models. Now research that incorporates detailed storm dynamics indicates the near-elimination of hail in future simulations for Colorado.

Geoengineering that mimics volcanic activity to reflect incoming sunlight will not necessarily reduce crop yields.

An analysis shows that when consumption-based emissions are accounted for in a sustainable-development framework, carbon-exporting countries are systematically disadvantaged relative to carbon-importing countries.