Articles in 2023

How the spatial structures of large storms will change is not well resolved in most climate models. Here the authors use high-resolution models to show that winter storms become sharper under warming because precipitation in the storm centre increases more strongly than the storm area.

Reducing methane emissions from fossil fuels, agriculture and waste is key to achieving climate goals. Technological advances and scientifically grounded feasibility assessments of mitigation initiatives may illuminate the path to success.

The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai eruption in January 2022 injected large amounts of water vapour into the atmosphere. Here, the authors show that this can cause additional warming over the next years, which increases the likelihood of exceeding 1.5 °C warming over a short time period.

Rapid growth of AI could lead to more inventions and innovations in climate actions, yet evidence of this connection is lacking. The use of large-scale patent data and automated techniques helps elucidate trends in climate-related artificial intelligence inventions for different technology areas.

Snow is an important component of the environment and climate of mountain regions, but providing a long-term historical context for recent changes is challenging. Here, the authors use ring-width data from shrubs to show that recent snow loss in the central Alps is unprecedented over the last 600 years.

High uncertainty exists in the projected climate change impacts on the Nile’s economies and water-dependent sectors. Under these uncertainties, managing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam cooperatively and adaptively can produce economic and water management benefits for Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

Despite the trajectory towards climate catastrophe, governments are failing to take disability-inclusive climate action. We discuss how the scientific community could advance and hasten the development of disability-inclusive climate resilience, and which areas should be prioritized.

Partisan politics is characterized by pejorative generalizations across opposition groups, but, similar to the groups being derogated, not all partisans are the same. Understanding the nature of partisan opposition to climate policy may help promote bipartisan projects to mitigate climate change.

Partisan polarization plays a key role in shaping climate action in the United States. By identifying positive and negative elements within party identities, the authors expand conceptualizations of Republican-Democrat to explore how partisanship relates to policy support and behavioural intentions.

The Nile River system is faced with challenges including increasing water demands, political tensions, and future climate and socio-economic uncertainties. Cooperative adaptive management can help increase synergies, balance trade-offs and bring various benefits to riparian countries.

A meta-analysis reveals that a steep and immediate uptick in investment in climate-relevant infrastructure is needed to reach net-zero pathways in Europe. The investment needs are further intensified by the ambition to become independent from Russian gas imports and highlight the importance of redirecting finance flows with adequate green financial policies.

Tipping elements are regions that are vulnerable to climate change and capable of sudden drastic changes. Now research establishes long-distance linkages between tipping elements, with the network analysis offering insights into their interactions on a global scale.

Teleconnections between tipping elements in the Earth system are unclear. Here the authors use a climate network approach to link the Amazon Rainforest Area and the Tibetan Plateau, and show that current snow cover loss on the Tibetan Plateau is an early warning signal for an approaching tipping point.

Urgent and targeted financial investments are essential for reaching the net zero target in Europe, while a comprehensive mapping is still missing. This meta-analysis demonstrates the necessity of rapid increase in investments and displays the potential patterns across various sectors.