Arguments
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2026
Posted on 12 March 2026 by Doug Bostrom, Marc Kodack
Open access notables
Weather Rescue at Sea: Recovering Historical Weather Observations From 19th Century British Naval Ships, Teleti et al., Geoscience Data Journal
Ship logbooks represent a critical source of historical meteorological data, providing valuable observations of barometric pressure, air temperature, sea surface temperature, wind force and direction, and other variables. Substantial quantities of these records are unavailable to climate science as they have not yet been transcribed. We present ‘Weather Rescue at Sea’, a citizen-science project which transcribed millions of weather observations contained in 19th Century UK Royal Navy ship logbooks. We describe the logbook structure and weather observation-taking instructions and discuss significant challenges with the translation of handwritten text into accurate data due to errors arising from ambiguous handwriting, historical terminology, and inconsistent metadata. We present the dataset and explore its spatio-temporal characteristics. The corrected and quality-assured datasets will enhance climate reanalyses and other historical reconstructions of the pre- and early industrial climate by providing more input meteorological data. Furthermore, we highlight emerging tools, such as AI-driven transcription correction, and outline remaining challenges in fully leveraging these historical records to advance climate science.
Climate-Driven Changes in Wildfire Seasonality Across North America, Fan et al., Geophysical Research Letters
Climate change alters the frequency and intensity of wildfires, but its impact on the seasonal patterns of wildfires remains underexplored. Here, we quantify historical changes in wildfire seasonality across different ecoregions in North America and assess how climate change may affect these seasonal patterns. Our study finds that boreal and taiga forests have experienced a clear advance in seasonal wildfire activity, whereas Mediterranean and desert regions show delayed and extended late-season burning. Prairie and humid forest regions exhibit comparatively muted change. Attribution analysis shows that atmospheric dryness is the dominant control, while antecedent temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture indirectly shape wildfire risk through vegetation and fuel continuity at different lag times. These findings provide a basis for interpreting future region-specific changes in wildfire seasonality and emphasize the need for region-specific assessments of future wildfire activity.
Rates of Sea-Level Rise Are Highly Sensitive to Ice Viscosity Parameters in Model Benchmarks, Martin et al., AGU Advances
Glacier flow plays a major role in current and future rates of globally averaged sea-level rise. The viscosity of glacial ice, controlling the rate of flow, decreases as stress increases and is highly sensitive to the value of the stress exponent, n, in the constitutive equation for viscous flow. Glaciologists and climate modelers almost exclusively assume n=3 when modeling ice flow and projecting sea-level rise through forward modeling. However, recent work suggests that n~4 better fits observations, prompting the question: How sensitive are projections of sea-level rise to the value of n? We use an established community ice flow model and standard benchmark experiments designed as an idealized representation of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica. While initializing an n=3 model to match observations of an n=4 ice sheet is possible, we find that incorrectly assuming n=3 when in fact n=4 dramatically underestimates rates of sea-level rise. The scale of this error grows nonlinearly with the magnitude of the climate forcing, acting to increase projection uncertainties. Additionally, we find that models often account for this stress-dependent rheology mismatch during model initialization in a way that masks this rheological effect in the short term while leaving model outputs vulnerable to larger biases in longer-term projections. Initializations to observations of Pine Island Glacier display similar rheology-mismatch fingerprints to our idealized example.
Beyond denial: climate delay discourses and public opinion on government climate action in the United States, Kulin & Rhodes, Environmental Politics
Discourses of climate delay increasingly permeate debates on climate action, yet studies examining the prevalence of public beliefs aligning with climate delay discourses – and their potential consequences for attitudes toward government climate action – are currently lacking. Past research has identified twelve discourses that acknowledge the existence of climate change yet justify inaction or inadequate responses. We design 48 survey items to measure the prevalence of beliefs consistent with these discourses via a representative web-based survey in the United States (n = 1,580). We then analyze the statistical relationship between these beliefs and public demand for government climate action as well as support for climate policies. Our results show that while beliefs consistent with most climate delay discourses are widespread in the U.S. some are more closely related to policy preferences. Our findings may therefore guide targeted counter-narratives to more effectively increase public demand and support for urgent climate policymaking.
ClimarisQ: What can we learn from playing a game for climate education?, Faranda et al., Geoscience Communication
ClimarisQ is both a web and mobile game developed by the Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace to support climate change communication through interactive decision-making. This paper presents an exploratory evaluation of the game based on a post-play questionnaire completed by 77 users. Respondents rated ClimarisQ positively in terms of usability and scientific credibility. Self-reported outcomes indicate that the game supported reflection on the complexity, trade-offs, and uncertainty of climate-related decision-making, rather than the acquisition of factual knowledge, particularly among users with prior expertise. The respondent group was predominantly composed of educated and climate-aware adults, which limits generalization to other audiences. Beyond the questionnaire, the game has been tested in dozens of facilitated sessions with thousands of non-specialist participants, with consistently positive feedback. These results suggest that ClimarisQ can function as a complementary tool for climate education and outreach, especially when used in facilitated settings that encourage discussion and interpretation.
From this week's government/NGO section:
The Urgent Case Against Data Centers, Food and Water Watch
Data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) are driving higher energy bills, more climate chaos, dwindling water supplies, and much more. Based on the latest research, there are 10 ways data centers leech off communities and the planet for Big Tech’s profit including a single hyperscale data center can consume as much energy as 2 million U.S. households; the thirst for fuel is being met by keeping old coal-fired power plants running and by building new natural gas ones; increased energy demand can raise residential rates, which soared 31 percent from 2020 to 2025 (compared to 4 percent from 2015 to 2020); and by 2028, AI data centers could use as much water as 18.5 million households, just for cooling their servers.
Bubble or Nothing, Advait Arun, Center for Public Enterprise
Should economic conditions in the tech sector sour, the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) boom may evaporate—and, with it, the economic activity associated with the boom in data center development. Data centers are an asset with the characteristics of both real estate and infrastructure: Data centers have tenants, chiefly large tech companies, that are undertaking expensive long-term capital investment plays with fast-depreciating assets and minimal cash flow to show for them. A careful review of these characteristics suggest that the sector faces the following salient risks including data center tenants will undertake multiple cycles of intense and increasingly expensive capital expenditure within a single lease term, posing considerable tenant churn risks to data center developers. This asset-liability mismatch between data center developers and their tenants will strain developers’ creditworthiness without guarantees from market-leading tech companies. Circular financing, or “roundabouting,” among so-called hyperscaler tenants—the leading tech companies and AI service providers—create an interlocking liability structure across the sector. These tenants comprise an incredibly large share of the market and are financing each others’ expansion, creating concentration risks for lenders and shareholders.
149 articles in 59 journals by 940 contributing authors
Physical science of climate change, effects
Divergent Mechanisms Drive Multi-Decadal Drought Intensification in South America: A Trend Turning Analysis From 1958 to 2023, Lou et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70242
Quantifying the role of large-scale circulation in North China heatwaves under global warming, Sun et al., Atmospheric Research 10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.108907
Spring–Summer Barents Sea Ice Loss Intensifies the Synchronicity of Recent Extreme Heatwaves in Europe and East Asia, Jiang et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2025jd044630
The Impact of Arctic Amplification on Midlatitude Winter Weather: Assessing the Stratospheric Pathway in a Warming Climate, Kappenberger et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0224.1
Observations of climate change, effects
Anthropogenic Warming and Ocean Variability Exacerbated Spring 2024 Compound Floods in Central Asia, Yao et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2025jd045602
Climate-Driven Changes in Wildfire Seasonality Across North America, Fan et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl121153
Detectable Anthropogenic Influences on Icing Days and Their Intensity Over China During 1961–2020 and Associated Observationally Constrained Projection, Wang & Jiang, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2025jd045591
Evaluating Historical Outdoor Thermal Discomfort in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, Karam et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70313
Instrumentation & observational methods of climate change, effects
Earth System Predictability across Time Scales for a Resilient Society: A Research Community Perspective, Richter et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 10.1175/bams-d-24-0155.1
Hidden Markov Quantile Models With Trends for Analysing Air Temperature Data, Tsiotas et al., International Journal of Climatology Open Access 10.1002/joc.70308
Ocean Observing System Design: Transatlantic Acoustic Propagation for Acoustic Thermometry, Dushaw et al., Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 10.1175/jtech-d-24-0124.1
The Arctic Boreal Burned Area (ABBA) Product, Chen et al., Geoscience Data Journal Open Access 10.1002/gdj3.70060
The Global Framework for Climate Services: An ‘imaginary’ of climate services shaping practice, Venning & Bremer, Environmental Science & Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104351
Weather Rescue at Sea: Recovering Historical Weather Observations From 19th Century British Naval Ships, Teleti et al., Geoscience Data Journal Open Access 10.1002/gdj3.70056
Modeling, simulation & projection of climate change, effects
High-resolution regional climate modeling over Myanmar using WRF: Historical validation and future projections under different shared socioeconomic pathways, Messmer et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000820
Projected 21st Century Changes in Precipitation and Temperature Over Italy Using CMIP6 CMCC-CM2-SR5 Model and COSMO-CLM Dynamical Downscaling, Vichot?Llano et al., International Journal of Climatology Open Access 10.1002/joc.70311
Projected Changes in Asymmetric Responses of Primary Productivity to Precipitation Using CMIP6 Earth System Models, Ji et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70326
Projected Changes to Tropical Cyclones in the Southwest Indian Ocean Using High-Resolution Global Climate Models, Green et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007484
Projected climate change in Fennoscandia – and its relation to ensemble spread and global trends, Strandberg et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics Open Access pdf 10.5194/wcd-7-185-2026
Projected Future Changes of Ningaloo Niño under Global Warming, Wu et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-24-0553.1
Projected Global Diversity of Marine Heatwaves in the 21st Century, Zhang et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl120526
Advancement of climate & climate effects modeling, simulation & projection
A new index used to characterise the extent of Antarctic marine coastal winds in climate projections, Cable et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics Open Access pdf 10.5194/wcd-7-247-2026
Constructing extreme heatwave storylines with differentiable climate models, Whittaker & Di Luca, Weather and Climate Dynamics Open Access pdf 10.5194/wcd-7-393-2026
Interconnection of Aerosol-Cloud Interactions and Cloud Feedback Through Warm Rain Process, Feng et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2025jd044854
Origin and Limits of Invariant Warming Patterns in Climate Models, Giani et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-24-0683.1
Persistent Antarctic Sea Ice Biases in CMIP6 Models in spite of the Recent Decadelong Sharp Decline, Roach & Polvani, Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0477.1
Cryosphere & climate change
Episodic Northward Transport Along Nares Strait Brings Anomalously Warm Water Into the Arctic Ocean, Garcia?Quintana et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans Open Access 10.1029/2025jc023672
Modeling the 21st-century response of Greenland's Zachariæ Isstrøm and Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden glaciers to atmosphere–ocean forcing and friction laws, Dong et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2025.11.006
North American ice sheet persistence into past interglacials should inform future projections, Creel et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-70032-y
Persistent Antarctic Sea Ice Biases in CMIP6 Models in spite of the Recent Decadelong Sharp Decline, Roach & Polvani, Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0477.1
Rates of Sea-Level Rise Are Highly Sensitive to Ice Viscosity Parameters in Model Benchmarks, Martin et al., AGU Advances Open Access 10.1029/2025av001946
Thirty years of glacier grounding line retreat in Antarctica, Rignot et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2524380123
Sea level & climate change
Rates of Sea-Level Rise Are Highly Sensitive to Ice Viscosity Parameters in Model Benchmarks, Martin et al., AGU Advances Open Access 10.1029/2025av001946
Biology & climate change, related geochemistry
Beyond heat: sediment and wave energy influence bleaching and demography in the coral Acropora cervicornis, Cunio & Mercado-Molina, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Open Access pdf 10.3389/fevo.2026.1665257
Biodiversity Insurance of Forest Productivity Has Strengthened Under Recent Climate Change, Bertrand & Morin, Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70760
Climate and Land Cover Change Transform Functional Identity and Reduce Functional Diversity in European Grasslands, Liu et al., Global Ecology and Biogeography 10.1111/geb.70217
Climate change will increase forest disturbances in Europe throughout the 21st century, Grünig et al., Science 10.1126/science.adx6329
Climate warming advances flowering and fruiting but drives divergent changes in reproductive season length, Ji et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03374-6
Does Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Facilitate Plant Invasions?, Cadotte et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70757
Ecological forecasts highlight opposing effects of long-term climate change on population demography, Ventura et al., Ecology 10.1002/ecy.70330
Future climate will not save high-elevation white pines, Malone et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03301-9
Geodiversity is an inseparable but underutilized aspect of ecological connectivity assessments under climate change, Määttänen et al., Ecography Open Access 10.1002/ecog.07768
Global Marine Fishery Stock Productivity Under Climate Change, Ma et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70784
Lichens as Biomonitors of Air Quality and Climate, Colesie & Newsham, Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70768
Molecular Responses to Climate Change: How Warming and Acidification Reshape the Proteome and Phosphoproteome of the Endangered Mira Chub, Moreno et al., Ecology and Evolution Open Access 10.1002/ece3.72933
Phenological shifts and increases in voltinism within a moth community over a century of anthropogenic change, Foster et al., Ecology Open Access 10.1002/ecy.70328
Predicting the Potential Distribution of the Invasive Plant Alternanthera pungens Kunth Under Climate Change Scenarios in China, Zheng et al., Ecology and Evolution Open Access 10.1002/ece3.73124
Regional risk shifts to monarch butterfly migration due to climate change, Sánchez-Cordero et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000802
Scenarios and strategies for future-proofing ecosystem management under climatic novelty, Toth et al., Conservation Biology Open Access 10.1111/cobi.70250
Signals From the Southern Edge: Demographic Effects of Ocean Warming on Two Cold-Adapted Seabird Species in the Gulf of Maine, Durham et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70769
Synthesizing Ecological Impacts and Management Responses from the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Wave to Prepare for Future Extreme Heat Events, Colberg et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 10.1175/bams-d-25-0331.1
The Future of Forest Microclimate in Southeast Asia, Ghizoni Santos et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl120734
Vulnerability of Key Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches to Future Erosion and Sea Level Rise, Christiaanse et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007191
When Climate Anomalies Starve Forests: The 2025 Bear Crisis in Japan, Xiao et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70781
GHG sources & sinks, flux, related geochemistry
Enhanced carbon burial in seagrass meadows under ocean acidification revealed by carbon dioxide vents, Kindeberg et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03349-7
GHG accounting needs two metrics: stabilisation temperature and damage, Touborg & Ball, Carbon Management Open Access 10.1080/17583004.2026.2634259
Glacial Meltwater Promotes Biological Productivity and Subsequent Dissolved Organic Carbon Accumulation in the Eastern Ross Sea: Evidence From the Austral Summer of 2023, Son et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access 10.1029/2025gb008770
Global Eddy Subduction Carbon Pump From Argo Floats, Keutgen De Greef et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access 10.1029/2025gb008912
Increased methane emissions from boreal peatlands following linear disturbances, Korsah et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access 10.1038/s43247-026-03273-w
Productivity gains fail to offset CUE decline in boreal region: Latent threats to carbon sinks under extreme climate events, Li et al., Global and Planetary Change 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2026.105400
Significant Influence of Lateral Carbon Fluxes on Regional U.S. Carbon Budgets, Byrne et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access 10.1029/2025gb009020
Substrate Addition Alters Carbon Dioxide and Methane Exchange in Incubation Experiments of Canadian Peatland Soils, Davies et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access 10.1029/2025gb008896
The Dual Role of NPP in Mediating and Moderating Climate-Soil Carbon Pathways Under Warming and Drought Across European Ecosystems, Lu et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70766
The impact of reduced precipitation on methane emissions in the Amazon and its role in the global methane balance, Neves et al., Atmospheric Environment 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2026.121860
Vulnerability of Key Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches to Future Erosion and Sea Level Rise, Christiaanse et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007191
CO2 capture, sequestration science & engineering
Feldspar alteration by disequilibrium CO2-H2O fluids in reservoir sandstones: implications for CCS, Farrell et al., Solid Earth Open Access 10.5194/se-17-407-2026
Multi-system analysis of offshore geologic carbon storage: a review of open-source data science solutions, Mark-Moser et al., Frontiers in Earth Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/feart.2025.1457489
Theoretical and Actual Carbon Sequestration Potential in China's Terrestrial Ecosystems, Wang et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70779
Decarbonization
Enhancing solar PV efficiency in mining operations through optimized cleaning intervals and automated dust mitigation, Tripathi et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-42709-3
Leveraging Carbon Quantum Dots to Achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals in the Face of Climate Change, Sah et al., Climate Resilience and Sustainability Open Access 10.1002/cli2.70034
Limited scientific evidence for decarbonization of energy end-uses and the challenges to learning and empowerment of green hydrogen niches - insights from Canada, Aguilar et al., Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114763
Rapid solar energy development in deserts: A missing element in desertification control and achieving Sustainable Development Goals, Yang et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1073/pnas.2601509123
Technological improvements in EV batteries offset climate-induced durability challenges, Wu et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02579-z
Geoengineering climate
Effects of Warming and Stratospheric Aerosol Injection on Tropical Cyclone Distribution and Frequency: Results From a High-Resolution Global Circulation Model, Feder et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2025jd045028
Aerosols
Declining anthropogenic aerosols amplify Northern Hemisphere Hadley circulation weakening in the 21st century, Kim et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-69990-0
Climate change communications & cognition
Beyond denial: climate delay discourses and public opinion on government climate action in the United States, Kulin & Rhodes, Environmental Politics Open Access 10.1080/09644016.2026.2633831
China’s rural-urban climate education divide: addressing environmental justice in climate literacy, Ampofo et al., Climate Risk Management Open Access 10.1016/j.crm.2026.100799
ClimarisQ: What can we learn from playing a game for climate education?, Faranda et al., Geoscience Communication Open Access pdf 10.5194/gc-9-115-2026
Climate news mediates extreme weather effects on climate change concern, Peisker et al., Climate Risk Management Open Access 10.1016/j.crm.2026.100806
Distress and Denial: Dutch Youth aged 16-35 Grappling with Climate Change, Reitsema et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology Open Access 10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.102969
Group Processes and Climate Change: Rejecting Intergroup Calls for Climate Action, Thürmer et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology 10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.102992
Modeling the Predictors of Extreme Weather Affective Experience and Its Influence on Extreme Weather Decision-Making, Ernst et al., Weather, Climate, and Society Open Access pdf 10.1175/wcas-d-24-0086.1
Whose house is on fire; when will we fail? Psychological distance of climate change inconsistently responds to social and temporal proximization, Seger et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology Open Access 10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.102989
Agronomy, animal husbundry, food production & climate change
Climate change and thermal stress in cattle: Global projections with high temporal resolution, Neira et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000761
Climate change perspectives of coffee farmers in Junín Mountain tropical forests and CMIP5 projections, Ibáñez-Blancas et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access 10.3389/fclim.2026.1770361
Climate-driven divergence in biophysical and economic impacts of agrivoltaics, Jia et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2514380123
Drained Agricultural Peatlands as Persistent Carbon Sources: Implications for Carbon and Water Use Intensity in Food Production, D'Acunha et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70796
Evaluation of Climate Risk Assessment in Subnational Climate Action Plans for the Agriculture Sector in India, Choubey et al., Weather, Climate, and Society 10.1175/wcas-d-25-0033.1
Keeping pace with change: An evaluation of the Maine-New Hampshire bottom trawl survey in a warming Gulf of Maine, Chang et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000843
Livestock Integration Into Cropping Systems Enhances Their Climate Change Resistance and Mitigation While Reducing Their Environmental Impacts, Delandmeter et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70765
The effects of self-governance arrangements on the climate change resilience of small-scale fisheries in Mexico, Elías Ilosvay et al., Global Environmental Change 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2026.103132
Trade-Offs Between Carbon and Water Fluxes Along a Land Use Intensity Gradient in Southeast Asian Forests and Plantations, Hanggara et al., Global Change Biology Open Access 10.1111/gcb.70753
Hydrology, hydrometeorology & climate change
African inland wetland area on the rise during the 21st century, Li et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-70480-6
Anthropogenic Warming and Ocean Variability Exacerbated Spring 2024 Compound Floods in Central Asia, Yao et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2025jd045602
Climate change enhances the propagation from meteorological to lake drought, Fu et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100887
Divergent Mechanisms Drive Multi-Decadal Drought Intensification in South America: A Trend Turning Analysis From 1958 to 2023, Lou et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70242
Anthropogenic Warming and Ocean Variability Exacerbated Spring 2024 Compound Floods in Central Asia, Yao et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2025jd045602
Climate-Driven Changes in Wildfire Seasonality Across North America, Fan et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl121153
Detectable Anthropogenic Influences on Icing Days and Their Intensity Over China During 1961–2020 and Associated Observationally Constrained Projection, Wang & Jiang, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2025jd045591
Evaluating Historical Outdoor Thermal Discomfort in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, Karam et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70313
Enhancement of Global Flood Risk Due To Greater Flood Magnitude and Variability Under Anthropogenic Activities, Chen et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1029/2025jd044105
How Do Precipitation Changes Affect Compound Dry and Hot Events Amidst Global Warming?, Zhao & Xiong, International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70324
Inter-model differences in 21st century glacier runoff for the world's major river basins, Wimberly et al., The Cryosphere Open Access pdf 10.5194/tc-19-1491-2025
Local and Remote Moisture Sources Both Increase Late Twenty-First Century Arctic Precipitation, Leister et al., Journal of Climate Open Access pdf 10.1175/jcli-d-24-0359.1
Projecting Multiscale River Flood Changes Across Japan at +2°C and +4°C Climates, Chen et al., Earth's Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2024ef005884
Quantification of the Impact of Uncertainties in Flood Risk Projections Across the Delaware River Basin, Michalek et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef006306
Recent and future variability in 1-day precipitation extremes in Trentino – South Tyrol (Eastern Italian Alps) based on observations (1956-2023) and climate model projections, Maines et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100880
Recent Increasing Trend in October–November Caribbean Tropical Cyclone Activity, Klotzbach et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl120183
Spatiotemporal Droughts Propagation and Direct Driving Variables Under Climate Change Projections: A Case Study of Tunisia, Sellami, International Journal of Climatology Open Access 10.1002/joc.70323
The key role of Mediterranean and North Atlantic sea surface temperatures on the 2024 record-breaking Valencia precipitation event, Saurral et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100877
Climate change economics
Are the public ready to bear the costs of phasing out coal-fired power plants? An economic feasibility analysis, Huh et al., Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115177
Global economic exposure to climate change amplified by spatially compounding climate extremes, Biess et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-70127-6
International ETS and Physical Climate Risks, Chen et al., Risk Analysis 10.1111/risa.70212
The EU carbon border adjustment mechanism: Does it impact the competitiveness of China's export trade?, Wang et al., Energy Policy 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115161
Climate change mitigation public policy research
Additional value of multi-city pilot projects in achieving climate neutrality – Lessons from the EU cities mission, Maliszewska-Nienartowicz & Modrzy?ska, Energy Research & Social Science 10.1016/j.erss.2026.104586
Advancing representations of equity and justice in climate mitigation futures, Pachauri et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000763
Climate change obstruction in Africa: the case of African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), Oguntuase, Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2026.2636746
Democratizing climate change mitigation pathways using modernized stabilization wedges, Johnson & Staffell, Science Open Access 10.1126/science.adr2118
Local ordinances and large-scale solar development in the United States, Lee et al., Energy Policy 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115088
Measuring climate action beyond commitments: a nationally determined contributions implementation index for Africa, Ozor et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1746338
Open science practices for better NDCs: Supporting transparent and accountable climate mitigation action, Beltramo et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000839
Policy goal communication increases support for ambitious renewable energy policies, Brückmann & Stadelmann-Steffen, PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000823
The effect of land costs on the economic and sustainability performance of solar photovoltaics in China, Chen et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2512930123
The sustainability trilemma of land scarcity: Quantifying the societal cost of Taiwan's energy transition, Zhao et al., Energy Policy 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115223
Updated Spatial Population Projections for the EU and the UK Under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways Provide New Insights for Climate Impact Assessments, Bonatz et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef006504
Were subsidy phase-outs premature for offshore wind power in China?, Lin & Xu, Energy for Sustainable Development Open Access 10.1016/j.esd.2026.101967
Who Has a Voice in the Energy Transition in the U.S. States? A Fifty-State Study of Local News, Wetts et al., Environmental Communication 10.1080/17524032.2026.2616474
‘Decision-support’ tools for the assessment of co-benefits: Insights from energy and climate policy in the United Kingdom, Lait & Foxon, Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115174
Climate change adaptation & adaptation public policy research
A Bias-Robust Framework for Quantifying Community Responses to the Climate Change Using the Occurrence Data, Seki et al., Global Ecology and Biogeography Open Access 10.1111/geb.70223
AI for Sustainable Urban Systems Plus (AISUS+): A Global Initiative to Enhance Climate and Environmental Resilience in Cities, Ouyang et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 10.1175/bams-d-26-0018.1
Assessing local governments’ preparedness and willingness to welcome climate and disaster-displaced populations, Enriquez, Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1758587
Editorial: Rethinking climate governance: integrating monitoring and evaluation for effective adaptation, Käyhkö & Sharifi, Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1810675
Further endeavours are needed to promote nature-based solutions for wildfire management under climate warming, Yu et al., Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2026.2637798
Hot Topics: Building Capacity for Extreme Heat Adaptation through Transdisciplinary Training, Vanos et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 10.1175/bams-d-25-0341.1
Insights From Managed Retreat Projects in Europe, Wolff et al., Earth's Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007012
Integrating Climate Change Into Social Protection Approaches: Developing a Policy Framework for Jordan, Jaskolski et al., Climate Resilience and Sustainability Open Access 10.1002/cli2.70037
Microcredit as an adaptation strategy to climate change in coastal Bangladesh based on the theory of planned behavior, Mahedi et al., Discover Sustainability Open Access 10.1007/s43621-026-02930-6
Navigating heatwaves in a temperate climate: barriers to behavioural adaptation in Dutch urban areas, Ahmed et al., Climate Risk Management Open Access 10.1016/j.crm.2026.100794
Opportunity windows accelerate action and expand options for climate adaptation in Europe, Di Fant et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03332-2
Reassessing boreal wildfire drivers enables high-resolution mapping of emissions for climate adaptation, Eckdahl et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.adw5226
Study on the impact of climate physical risks on urban sustainability and resilience, Wang et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1751795
Support for Climate Change Adaptation over Climate Change Mitigation in the United States Depends on Political Party Identification and How Adaptation Is Framed, Bayes et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology 10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.102987
The literature landscape on cities and climate change, Lamb et al., Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 10.1016/j.cosust.2018.02.008
Uneven readiness: measuring climate risk and societal preparedness across OECD and key partner countries (2002–2022), Biresselioglu et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access 10.3389/fclim.2026.1747669
Visual-thermal interaction effects on perceived restoration in dynamic park routes: a time-series perspective on outdoor climate adaptation in hot climates, Dong et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology 10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.102931
Who Talks About Flood Risks and Climate Change Adaptation? Analysis of Social Interactions in Three Countries, Wagenblast et al., Risk Analysis Open Access 10.1111/risa.70213
Climate change impacts on human health
Community perceptions on climate change and its impacts on malaria transmission in South-eastern Tanzania, Nshatsi et al., Malaria Journal Open Access 10.1186/s12936-026-05835-x
Evaluating Historical Outdoor Thermal Discomfort in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, Karam et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70313
Projecting and valuing climate change impacts on anxiety and depression in the contiguous USA: a damage function approach, Belova et al., The Lancet Planetary Health Open Access 10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101426
What competencies physical activity professionals should possess to better integrate climate change related issues into their practice: A Delphi study, Hozhabri et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000812
[Review] Interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from health-system solid waste: a systematic review, McGushin et al., The Lancet Planetary Health Open Access 10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101418
Climate change impacts on human culture
Mothers’ Digital Caring Labor as Climate Action: Leadership and Collective Care in Modern Cloth Nappy Facebook Groups, Condie, Environmental Communication Open Access 10.1080/17524032.2026.2638864
Other
Antarctic minerals in a warming world, Lucas et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02569-1
Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives
A call for evidence-based adaptation: mitigating the rising global health burden of extreme heat, Li et al., The Lancet Planetary Health Open Access pdf 10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101287
Climate change is speeding up — the pace nearly doubled in ten years, Witze, Nature 10.1038/d41586-026-00745-z
Climate research is global — risks and responsibilities should also be distributed, Rui et al., Nature 10.1038/d41586-026-00680-z
Experimenting for impact: Combining research with advocacy for climate stability, Suter et al., PLOS Climate Open Access 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000837
GHG accounting needs two metrics: stabilisation temperature and damage, Touborg & Ball, Carbon Management Open Access 10.1080/17583004.2026.2634259
Thirty-six solutions to stabilize Earth’s climate, McJeon & Ou, Science 10.1126/science.aed5212
Articles/Reports from Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations Addressing Aspects of Climate Change
Taking Charge of Cleaner Automotive Supply Chains, Lead the Charge
This is the fourth annual Leaderboard documenting progress towards equitable, sustainable and fossil-free electric vehicle (EV) supply chains. The authors evaluate 18 of the world’s leading automakers on their efforts to eliminate emissions, environmental harms, and human rights violations from their supply chains. This year’s analysis shows that even cleaner EVs — built with decarbonized materials, circular practices and a human rights-respecting supply chain — are within reach. The best-in-class score now stands at 86%, a level of performance any automaker could achieve by emulating practices already in place across the industry. The average score across all 18 companies has also risen for the third year in a row. Industry leaders are pulling further ahead. Since the Leaderboard launched, Tesla, Ford, Volvo, Mercedes and Volkswagen have improved at twice the rate of their peers. While many automakers continue to limit their supply chain practices to standardized, one-size-fits-all approaches, leaders are increasingly pursuing more targeted, material-specific strategies with greater potential for real-world impact. Yet overall progress remains far too slow. For the fourth consecutive year, no automaker has scored above 50%, and the overall average sits at just 25%. Some companies have even gone backwards on ambition and transparency. With clear pathways and proven models of best practice now in place, continued underperformance is a choice.
Delivering high quality climate change, nature and sustainability education for all, McRae et al., Multiple
Capitalizing on greater climate change, nature and sustainability education in the national (UK) curriculum will need a detailed programme of support to make the changes a reality, according to a new report published. The report, produced following discussions with more than 40 professional bodies and teaching organizations, sets out ten priority areas for improving climate education following the UK government's Curriculum and Assessment Review. The experts argue that while the curriculum review is a welcome step, real change will require coordinated support across the whole education system. It also urges the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills to incorporate schools' sustainability actions and climate change, nature and sustainability education into their inspection framework.
CDRmare HUB Workshop Report. Monitoring Environmental Impacts of mCDR Field Tests, Sarpey et al., GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
A workshop brought together a diverse group of scientists to advance a shared understanding of what constitutes responsible and feasible environmental monitoring, reporting, and verification (eMRV) for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) field experiments. Given emerging developments in regulating mCDR research, such as the forthcoming amendments to Germany’s High Seas Dumping Act, the workshop provided a great opportunity to examine interdisciplinary scientific and legal challenges associated with monitoring environmental impacts. Across three thematic sessions, international experts provided insights into the current state of scientific knowledge, lessons learned from conducted and planned field experiments, and the evolving legal landscape relevant to mCDR-related eMRV. The workshop report synthesizes the key points discussed. Next steps include using this synthesis, along with the network of participating experts, to prepare consolidated scientific publications as scientific input for the dynamic debate on mCDR eMRV governance.
The Urgent Case Against Data Centers, Food and Water Watch
Data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) are driving higher energy bills, more climate chaos, dwindling water supplies, and much more. Based on the latest research, there are 10 ways data centers leech off communities and the planet for Big Tech’s profit including a single hyperscale data center can consume as much energy as 2 million U.S. households; the thirst for fuel is being met by keeping old coal-fired power plants running and by building new natural gas ones; increased energy demand can raise residential rates, which soared 31 percent from 2020 to 2025 (compared to 4 percent from 2015 to 2020); and by 2028, AI data centers could use as much water as 18.5 million households, just for cooling their servers.
Bubble or Nothing, Advait Arun, Center for Public Enterprise
Should economic conditions in the tech sector sour, the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) boom may evaporate—and, with it, the economic activity associated with the boom in data center development. Data centers are an asset with the characteristics of both real estate and infrastructure: Data centers have tenants, chiefly large tech companies, that are undertaking expensive long-term capital investment plays with fast-depreciating assets and minimal cash flow to show for them. A careful review of these characteristics suggest that the sector faces the following salient risks including data center tenants will undertake multiple cycles of intense and increasingly expensive capital expenditure within a single lease term, posing considerable tenant churn risks to data center developers. This asset-liability mismatch between data center developers and their tenants will strain developers’ creditworthiness without guarantees from market-leading tech companies. Circular financing, or “roundabouting,” among so-called hyperscaler tenants—the leading tech companies and AI service providers—create an interlocking liability structure across the sector. These tenants comprise an incredibly large share of the market and are financing each others’ expansion, creating concentration risks for lenders and shareholders.
Solar Market Insight Report, Solar Energy Industries Association
The U.S. solar industry installed 43.2 gigawatts direct current (GWdc) of capacity in 2025, a 14% decrease from 2024. The utility-scale sector shrank nearly 40% quarter-over-quarter in the fourth quarter. Revised tax credit timelines and safe harbor dynamics reduced the imperative to interconnect by year-end. They also increased the urgency to begin construction on new projects. Solar accounted for 54% of all new electricity-generating capacity added to the U.S. grid in 2025. Combined, solar and storage made up 79% of new capacity in this timeframe. Throughout all of Wood Mackenzie’s U.S. power sector outlooks, solar capacity constitutes roughly half of new capacity added each year through 2060. 2025 was a monumental year for the U.S. solar manufacturing industry. New cell capacity continued to expand, and wafer capacity came online for the first time since 2016. Module manufacturing grew more than 50% in 2025, with 65.5 GW of capacity online, up from 42.5 GW at the end of 2024. However, the actual production of these facilities remains considerably below domestic demand.
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