Search

Climate change is exposing marine species to unsuitable temperatures while also creating new thermal opportunities of varying persistence. Here, the authors examine how the interplay between these processes varies over time, demonstrating the potential of thermal opportunities to drive marine biodiversity changes, especially in the near and mid-term.

About 45 percent of Africans believe their government is responsible for climate change action, and the least responsibility is attributed to countries and businesses with high greenhouse gas emissions, according to public survey data and statistical analysis.

Solar geoengineering, an emergency climate intervention, could shift one billion people back into areas of malaria risk. Regional tradeoffs and potential adverse outcomes point to the need for health sector planning with Global South leadership.

Future adaptation syntheses need to balance the scope trade-offs, ensure rigorous coding standards, promote justice and equity in teams, include non-academic evidence, and better integrate machine learning, according to a survey of Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative researchers.

Climate literacy—awareness of climate change and understanding that humans are responsible—is necessary for adaptation and mitigation. Levels of climate literacy across Africa are highly variable, with positive predictors of literacy identified, suggesting areas to target for increasing climate change literacy.

Using geographical data for approximately 36,000 marine and terrestrial species and climate projections to 2100, the authors show that the area of each species’ geographical range at risk of thermal exposure will expand abruptly, highlighting the urgency of mitigation and adaptation actions.

Many heritage sites are threatened by rising sea levels under climate change as they lie within the coastal zone. A continental assessment of exposure of 284 African heritage sites shows that 20% of sites are currently at risk, which more than triples under moderate and high emission scenarios.

The authors outline five decolonizing shifts that could help to transform academic ecological practice, challenging the discipline to become more inclusive, creative and ethical.

Using annual projections of temperature and precipitation to estimate when species will be exposed to potentially harmful climate conditions reveals that disruption of ecological assemblages as a result of climate change will be abrupt and could start as early as the current decade.

Predicting ecological niche space and ecosystem function from morphological traits is challenging. Here, the authors show that avian trophic diversity can be reduced to four dimensions, based on nine key morphological traits, which reflects convergence of trait combinations.

Cities may host surprisingly diverse and functionally distinct biological communities. This global analysis on 5302 vertebrate and invertebrate species finds evidence of 4 trait syndromes in urban animal assemblages, modulated by spatial and geographic factors.

Geoengineering is a potential strategy to offset the effects of climate change. Using climate velocities to predict the effects on biodiversity shows particular risk from the abrupt termination of geoengineering.

Determining progress in adaptation to climate change is challenging, yet critical as climate change impacts increase. A stocktake of the scientific literature on implemented adaptation now shows that adaptation is mostly fragmented and incremental, with evidence lacking for its impact on reducing risk.

Changes in climate and land use will lead to species aggregating in new combinations at high elevations, in biodiversity hotspots and in areas of high human population density in Asia and Africa, driving the cross-species transmission of animal-associated viruses.

The authors assess the growing field of climate change health impact attribution. They show literature bias towards direct heat effects and extreme weather in high-income countries, highlighting the lack of global representation in current efforts.

Climate change will almost certainly cause millions of deaths. Climate engineering might prevent this, but benefits — and risks — remain mostly unevaluated. Now is the time to bring planetary health research into climate engineering conversations.

Climate change poses a threat to heritage globally. Decolonial approaches to climate change–heritage research and practice can begin to address systemic inequities, recognize the breadth of heritage and strengthen adaptation action globally.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires examining the impacts of health interventions across multiple sectors and identifying regions where health–development–environment conflicts are most likely. Doing this is important for ending the epidemic of malaria by 2030 alongside achieving other SDGs.

Getting heritage-relevant adaptation indicators right is critical for adapting heritage to climate change. We assess the Belém Adaptation Indicators adopted at COP30 under the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience to clarify strengths and gaps. Adoption is a significant step toward operationalising the Global Goal on Adaptation. To close outstanding gaps, we call for clear definitions, baselines and metadata that reflect tangible and intangible heritage, including diverse knowledge systems, while minimising reporting burdens by aligning with UNESCO inventories and national channels. We flag omissions and propose pragmatic fixes for credible, low‑burden monitoring and action including mixed‑methods and narrative ‘direction‑of‑travel’ measures, capacity strengthening and finance access to manage losses and damages and reposition heritage as a driver of climate‑resilient development.

The COVID-19 pandemic will be an unprecedented test of governments’ ability to manage compound risks, as climate hazards disrupt outbreak response around the world. Immediate steps can be taken to minimize climate-attributable loss of life, but climate adaptation also needs a long-term strategy for pandemic preparedness.