News & Comment

Attribution of the record-shattering global annual heat in 2023 to human and/or natural factors is fundamentally required for reliable predictions of upcoming global warming and its impacts. An observation-model comparison of global hot areas supports a key role for human-induced climate change, with a small contribution from El Niño.

In northern China and the Korean Peninsula, air pollution has worsened over the past ten years, but the two countries have not cooperated efficiently to resolve the problem. China and Korea must separate environmental negotiations and diplomatic actions to address the transboundary nature of air pollution.

Oxygen levels in the ocean increased three times between the early Ediacaran and the early Cambrian, in synchrony with major developments in animal evolution.

In 2021, one in five people in Africa was affected by hunger, and the continent had the highest prevalence of undernourished people globally. We argue that food systems in Africa can be more resilient if their development includes climate adaptation.

Large language models can summarize, aggregate, and convey localized climate-related data to people in a cost-effective and expeditious manner. This Comment introduces a simple, proof-of-concept prototype and argues that the approach holds the potential to truly democratize climate information.

The lived experiences of the full diversity of people facing climate change must be taken into account for climate adaptation to be effective and to avoid maladaptation.

Emissions intensity is a more appropriate metric for assessing individual firms’ carbon efficiency than correlations between unscaled carbon emissions and stock market performance, and the latter should be interpreted with caution.

Given the escalating climate crisis, the task of integrating novel carbon dioxide removals into the European Union’s climate policy is urgent and long overdue. This Comment argues that there is a window of opportunity for responding now, and puts forward a solution.

Blue carbon will not solve climate change. The effect is too small; existing sediment carbon stock is a liability; and there is a timescale mismatch between ancient fossil fuel emissions and uptake by vegetation. Clearer communication would support informed decision-making.

Deforestation and climate change threaten social and ecological well-being in Amazonia. Research co-produced through ethical collaborations across multiple knowledge systems can contribute toward just and sustainable futures for the region.

The role of law and policy in encouraging a sustainable global diet is often underestimated. I argue that targeted laws and environmental policy are key to bring the agricultural sector on the path towards sustainability.

Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is a key element of any mitigation strategy aiming to achieve the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, as well as national net-zero and net-negative greenhouse gas emissions targets. For robust CDR policy, the credibility of certification schemes is essential.

Unmanaged land areas are not included in current national reports on greenhouse gas emissions for the Paris Agreement. Here, we argue that carbon dioxide fluxes from all forest land need to be recorded in order to help tracking progress towards global climate targets.

The drivers of trends in methane concentrations in the atmosphere over past decades are still poorly understood. Simulations from a chemistry transport model and box model show that human activity is the main driver of a complex system.

Climate change and unsustainable land-use practices are causing megafires in South America. Here we call for rigorous scientific coordination and global cooperation to claim back landscape planning, mitigate fire risk and foster resilience in the region.

India’s green revolution has made the country a world leader in rice and wheat production, but at the expense of people and the environment. Here, we call for transformative changes in its agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining production levels.

Climate change is projected to affect migration patterns, mortality, and fertility in the most vulnerable places in the global tropics. An analysis of population growth and exposure to climate extremes in twenty-nine tropical countries shows that heat and drought lead to altered population distributions but not to depopulation.

Exposure to poor air quality can damage human health and incur associated costs. The severity of these impacts is not uniform around the globe, but depends on the health and density of the populations.

Extractive activities in the deep sea are poised to advance faster than the science needed to evaluate risks. Here, we call for a strong precautionary approach in developing these industries.

During the February 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, people looked for explanations. As scientists, we did our best to share our knowledge in a way that reached and connected with people beyond the scientific community.