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Climate change may necessitate transformative adaptation of agricultural systems. Research now indicates when and where the cultivation of key crops in sub-Saharan African will become unviable.
New surveys show strategies to garner public support based on the traditional justification of reducing the risks of climate change remain the most effective. This contrasts with recent studies that suggest emphasizing co-benefits is more fruitful.
Extreme precipitation over land has increased over the wettest and driest regions and is likely to keep intensifying over the twenty-first century. This has key implications for dry regions, which may be unprepared for the potential related flooding.
About 70% of agricultural output variance due to climate in Mato Grosso, Brazil was determined by changes in cropping frequency and/or changes in cropping area rather than yield (the most common climate impact indicator), a study now shows.
Research now shows that broad thermal niches observed in high-latitude ectotherms apply only to species undergoing range expansion or invasion. Non-range-expanding species are therefore unlikely to tolerate climatic warming at high latitudes.
Research now shows that there is a large discrepancy between how much megacities spend on adaptation. Those in developing countries spend considerably less per person than their developed counterparts, despite being the most vulnerable.
The interacting effects of temperature and precipitation changes on grasslands remain hard to quantify. Research now indicates widespread and consistent increases in North American grassland productivity under climate change despite greater aridity.
Failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation ranks as the most impactful risk to society, according to the 2016 Global Risks Report from the World Economic Forum.
It has been claimed that the early-2000s global warming slowdown or hiatus, characterized by a reduced rate of global surface warming, has been overstated, lacks sound scientific basis, or is unsupported by observations. The evidence presented here contradicts these claims.
Insights about climate are being uncovered thanks to improved capacities to observe ocean salinity, an essential climate variable. However, cracks are beginning to appear in the ocean observing system that require prompt attention if we are to maintain the existing, hard-won capacity into the near future.
This Perspective links climate change and the distribution of wealth. Using an 'inclusive wealth' framework, it is shown that climate change could dramatically reallocate wealth, with important implications for sustainable development.
In this Perspective it is argued that coastal marsh vulnerability is often overstated because assessments generally neglect feedback processes known to accelerate soil building with sea level rise, as well as the potential for marshes to migrate inland.
Estimates of carbon budgets compatible with limiting warming to below specific temperature limits are reviewed, and reasons underlying their differences discussed along with their respective strengths and limitations.