Article
Food Science & Technology
Corey Lesk, Ethan Coffel, Jonathan Winter, Deepak Ray, Jakob Zscheischler, Sonia Seneviratne, Radley Horton
Summary: Climate change is projected to modify temperature-moisture couplings and potentially worsen the impacts of warming on key global crops. Rising air temperatures pose a significant risk to global crop production, with the sensitivity of crops to heat depending on the strength of temperature-moisture couplings in the climate system. However, the impact of these changes on crop yields is highly uncertain in some regions, highlighting the need for robust adaptation strategies to address the underappreciated risk to food production from climate change.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Longhui Li, Yue Zhang, Tianjun Zhou, Kaicun Wang, Can Wang, Tao Wang, Linwang Yuan, Kangxin An, Chenghu Zhou, Guonian Lu
Summary: This study demonstrates that China's carbon neutrality has the potential to mitigate global warming, with varying impacts at regional scales.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ilissa B. Ocko, Tianyi Sun, Drew Shindell, Michael Oppenheimer, Alexander N. Hristov, Stephen W. Pacala, Denise L. Mauzerall, Yangyang Xu, Steven P. Hamburg
Summary: This paper analyzes the climate benefits of fast action to reduce methane emissions compared to slower and delayed mitigation timelines. It finds that rapid implementation of available mitigation measures can significantly reduce near-term temperature rise and slow the global-mean rate of warming. Urgently scaling up efforts to implement methane mitigation measures is crucial to limiting climate damages in the near-term.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Guiyang Wu, Jie Chen, Xinyan Shi, Jong-Suk Kim, Jun Xia, Liping Zhang
Summary: This study investigates changes in meteorological and hydrological drought conditions in 8,655 watersheds globally under 1.5-3.0 degrees C warmer climates. The results show that, except for certain regions, both meteorological and hydrological drought conditions would be relieved in warmer climates due to increased precipitation. However, the severity of drought conditions would increase during the propagation from meteorological to hydrological droughts, with more severe conditions occurring first and then being relieved with rising temperatures. Efforts to slow down global warming are crucial to suppress the deterioration of drought conditions during propagation.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Timothy M. Lenton, Chi Xu, Jesse F. Abrams, Ashish Ghadiali, Sina Loriani, Boris Sakschewski, Caroline Zimm, Kristie L. Ebi, Robert R. Dunn, Jens-Christian Svenning, Marten Scheffer
Summary: The costs of climate change are often expressed in monetary terms, but this brings up ethical concerns. This study calculates the costs in terms of the number of people excluded from the 'human climate niche', which represents the historically consistent distribution of population density with respect to temperature. It was found that current climate policies leading to 2.7 degrees C global warming by the end of the century could leave one-third of the global population outside this niche, emphasizing the urgency for decisive action to address climate change.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lei Gu, Jiabo Yin, Louise J. J. Slater, Jie Chen, Hong Xuan Do, Hui-Min Wang, Lu Chen, Zhiqiang Jiang, Tongtiegang Zhao
Summary: Anthropogenic climate warming is expected to increase the frequency of extreme hydrological droughts globally. This study integrates climate experiments, hydrological models, and multivariate analysis to examine the evolving characteristics and mechanisms of hydrological droughts. Results show that extreme hydrological droughts are projected to occur more frequently across catchments in different climate zones. Precipitation stress is currently the primary driver of historical droughts, but with climate warming, air temperature variations may become the new primary driver in high-latitude cold catchments.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Albert Muleke, Matthew Tom Harrison, Peter de Voil, Ian Hunt, Ke Liu, Maria Yanotti, Rowan Eisner
Summary: This study analyzed the effects of climate change and extreme climatic events on crop flowering periods and concluded that irrigation can increase average crop yields but cannot fully offset the long-term yield decline caused by the climate crisis.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jennifer R. Marlon, Xinran Wang, Matto Mildenberger, Parrish Bergquist, Sharmistha Swain, Katharine Hayhoe, Peter D. Howe, Edward Maibach, Anthony Leiserowitz
Summary: Public perceptions of climate change in the United States are influenced by cultural values and political identities, but experiences of extreme weather and climate impacts can shift these perceptions. Hot dry day exposure has been found to significantly increase individuals' perceptions of experiencing global warming, while other precipitation and temperature anomalies do not show the same effect. County-level patterns of perceived experiences with climate change can also be influenced by specific climate trends.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Liang Qiao, Zhiyan Zuo, Renhe Zhang, Shilong Piao, Dong Xiao, Kaiwen Zhang
Summary: Soil moisture-atmosphere coupling induces non-linear warming via the 'warmer climate - drier soil' feedback, exerting an accelerating effect on global warming and extreme high temperatures. The projection shows that SA-driven warming will exceed 0.5°C over extratropical landmasses by the end of the 21st Century, increasing the likelihood of extreme high temperatures.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Yadong Ji, Jianyu Fu, Yang Lu, Bingjun Liu
Summary: Global warming is expected to have a significant impact on drought dynamics. This study investigated the changes in drought severity, intensity, area, and duration under various levels of global warming. The results showed a nonlinear increasing trend in drought characteristics, with the highest growth rate under 3 degrees C warming. Hotspots of increased drought severity were identified, while some regions exhibited a reduction in drought severity. The findings emphasize the need for adaptation measures and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.
ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Siyi Wang, Yongli He, Shujuan Hu, Fei Ji, Bin Wang, Xiaodan Guan, Sebastiano Piccolroaz
Summary: Lake surface water temperature is highly sensitive to climate change and is found to be warming globally. The warming rate of global lakes varies by region, with dryland lakes experiencing more significant warming compared to semi-humid and humid regions. Air temperature is identified as the main driving force for lake warming. Future projections indicate that lake surface water temperature will continue to rise, especially in dryland areas.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
S. Fueglistaler, L. G. Silvers
Summary: This study demonstrates that the parameter Delta(conv), quantifying the difference in sea surface temperatures between regions of deep convection and the tropical or global average, captures the time-varying pattern effect in global shortwave cloud radiative effect variations. The quantification of cloud feedback critically depends on small changes in the shape of the sea surface temperature probability density distribution, emphasizing the importance of accurate and stable global climate records.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Flavio Lehner, Sloan Coats
Summary: Many aspects of climate change scale linearly with global warming, but non-linear changes are possible in the context of hydroclimate. The uncertainty in climate model responses to anthropogenic factors such as greenhouse gases and aerosols can impact regional hydroclimate projections as global temperatures stabilize.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Yali Meng, Keqin Duan, Peihong Shi, Wei Shang, Shuangshuang Li, Ying Cheng, Li Xing, Rong Chen, Jinping He
Summary: Rapid global warming has caused a dramatic retreat in the cryosphere on the Tibetan Plateau, with the warming rate on the plateau being higher than the global average. The temperature on the plateau has already increased by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and is projected to warm by 2°C by 2028/2027 under certain scenarios. The high-elevation region on the plateau is particularly sensitive and vulnerable to warming, which will intensify cryosphere ablation.
ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Juan Zhou, Jianping Wu, Jingxing Huang, Xiongjie Sheng, Xiaolin Dou, Meng Lu
Summary: Human-induced global changes can have significant effects on the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems. This study synthesized the responses of nematodes, which play a critical role in material cycles and soil food webs, to major global change factors. The results showed that the responses of nematodes and soil micro-food webs varied among different global change scenarios.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)