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Bibliography on: Climate Change

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Robert J. Robbins is a biologist, an educator, a science administrator, a publisher, an information technologist, and an IT leader and manager who specializes in advancing biomedical knowledge and supporting education through the application of information technology. More About:  RJR | OUR TEAM | OUR SERVICES | THIS WEBSITE

RJR: Recommended Bibliography 24 Apr 2025 at 02:00 Created: 

Climate Change

The world is warming up, with 2023 being by far the hottest year since record keeping began and 2024 shaping up to be hotter yet. But these changes only involve one or two degrees. What's the big deal?

The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one liter of water by one degree is one kilocalorie (kcal). Scaling up, the amount of energy required for a one-degree increase in the water temperature of the Gulf of Mexico is 2,434,000,000,000,000,000 kcals. That's 25 million times more energy than released by the WW-II atomic bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima and killed more than 100,000 people.

So, for every one degree increase in water temperature, the Gulf of Mexico takes on 25-million atomic-bombs' worth of new energy, which is then available to fuel hurricanes and other storms. Maybe a one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal.

Created with PubMed® Query: (( "climate change"[TITLE] OR "global warming"[TITLE] )) NOT pmcbook NOT ispreviousversion

Citations The Papers (from PubMed®)

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RevDate: 2025-04-22

Zhang J, Jiang F, Gao H, et al (2025)

Dynamics of Suitable Habitats for Typical Predators and Prey on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Driven by Climate Change: A Case Study of Tibetan Fox, Red Fox, and Plateau Pika.

Ecology and evolution, 15(4):e71295.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is a biodiversity hotspot highly sensitive to global climate change. The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata), red fox (V. vulpes), and plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) are key species of the plateau, serving as typical representatives of predators and prey among its diverse wildlife. To evaluate the impact of climate change, we employed the maximum entropy model with 1237 distribution points and various environmental variables to predict habitat suitability under three global climate models and four representative concentration pathways for the 2050s and 2070s. The results revealed that the suitable habitats for two predators were projected to decline, with reductions ranging from 0.23% to 5.64% and 4.12% to 6.63%, respectively, with most reductions occurring in the central-western and southern regions of the QTP. The decline was anticipated to be more pronounced in the 2070s compared to the 2050s. Conversely, the suitable habitat for prey species, plateau pikas, was expected to experience only a slight decrease (0.45%-0.98%) under scenarios of moderate greenhouse gas emissions. Habitat centroid analyses indicated a consistent northward migration of suitable areas for both predators and prey in response to climate change on the QTP. Furthermore, future overlap analysis between predator and prey habitats showed uncertain trends; however, the overlap between the Tibetan fox and Plateau pika habitats was notably lower compared to that of the red fox and plateau pika habitats. Regarding the current conservation efforts of both predators and prey, evaluation results highlighted the critical significant role of Sanjiangyuan National Park, China's first national park located in Qinghai Province, and Qiangtang Nature Reserve in Xizang as critical areas for the protection of these species on the QTP in China. The findings and methodologies of this research hold significant reference value for the conservation of predator and prey habitats in other global biodiversity hotspots.

RevDate: 2025-04-22

Hassan MM, Maruf MFI, Nohor N, et al (2025)

Factors Determining Bangladeshi University Students' Perception, Knowledge and Attitude About Climate Change: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Health science reports, 8(4):e70722.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather patterns and is one of the greatest global threats. Bangladesh is among the most vulnerable countries, facing severe climate-induced events. Understanding climate change is crucial for identifying risks, developing adaptation strategies, and mitigating long-term impacts. University students, as future leaders, play a vital role in addressing climate change. This study assesses their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of climate change in Bangladesh.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students from four universities in Bangladesh. A total of 1500 participants were selected based on inclusion criteria. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic characteristics, and perception regarding climate change, while univariate and multivariate logistic regression identified factors associated with good knowledge and positive attitudes.

RESULTS: Overall, 73% of students had good knowledge of climate change, while 27% demonstrated poor knowledge. A majority (84%) expressed a positive attitude toward climate change initiatives. Participants correctly identified key climate-related events in Bangladesh, such as increased cyclones, tidal waves, and salinity. However, awareness of rising snakebite incidents and related deaths was low, with many perceiving no change or disagreeing with their significance. Factors associated with good knowledge included gender, source of information, and mother's education. Gender, source of information, and both parents' education were associated with positive attitudes among the participants.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides baseline evidence on climate change knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions among Bangladeshi university students. To our knowledge, it is the first comprehensive assessment of this issue in this population. Given their strong awareness and positive attitudes, targeted initiatives can harness students' potential in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, contributing to long-term solutions for Bangladesh's climate challenges.

RevDate: 2025-04-22

Imberti L, Tiecco G, Logiudice J, et al (2025)

Effects of Climate Change on the Immune System: A Narrative Review.

Health science reports, 8(4):e70627.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Human activities have greatly influenced global temperatures, leading to climate change and global warming. This narrative review aims to explore the relationship between climate change and the immune system, focusing on how environmental stressors can affect immune regulation, leading to both hyperactivity and suppression.

METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed studies published up to June 2024. The search terms included "climate change," "human health," "infection," "immunity," and "disease." Inclusion criteria were based on relevance, originality, and accessibility.

RESULTS: Exposure to elevated temperatures can significantly impair immune system cells, leading to an overproduction of signaling molecules that promote inflammation. Temperature fluctuations have been shown to influence various aspects of the adaptive immune response, including immune cell mobilization, antigen processing and presentation, lymphocyte trafficking and activation, and the functionality of B and T cells. Notably, some research suggests that heat stress negatively impacts B lymphocyte differentiation, replication, and proportion, resulting in decreased immunoglobulin and cytokine production, and contributing to immunosuppression. Additionally, climate change-related exposures can compromise epithelial barriers in the skin, lungs, and gut, leading to microbial dysbiosis, and immune dysregulation. Furthermore, environmental factors such as temperature variations, humidity, and air pollutant levels may exacerbate the prevalence of infectious diseases, including measles and HIV, with varying impacts on acute, chronic, and latent infections, further contributing to immune variability.

CONCLUSION: Climate change, particularly increased temperatures, significantly impacts immune system function, leading to both heightened inflammatory responses, and immunosuppression. Future research should focus on developing comprehensive and sustainable management strategies to enhance health resilience in the face of ongoing climatic changes.

RevDate: 2025-04-21
CmpDate: 2025-04-21

Calabria RA (2025)

An introduction to climate change for nurses.

Nursing, 55(5):45-48.

Climate change and sustainability represent new areas of nursing content for many nurses. Health-focused interventions are needed to address the health of the planet and mitigate the health impacts of climate change. However, research shows that nursing curricula and nurses' knowledge related to climate change are limited. This article discusses climate change and its health impacts across 10 categories and provides recommendations for personal and organizational sustainability practices.

RevDate: 2025-04-20

Sprague NL, Scott SN, Mehranbod CA, et al (2025)

Changing Degrees: a weight-of-evidence scoping review examining the impact of childhood exposures to climate change on educational outcomes.

Environmental research pii:S0013-9351(25)00890-4 [Epub ahead of print].

Climate change negatively impacts several dimensions of education (including student achievement, educational infrastructure, school readiness, and other factors). Further, climate change may act as a threat multiplier for existing educational disparities. While theory links climate change to educational disparities, empirical research remains scarce and there is no current weight-of-evidence review examining climate change and education. This weight of evidence scoping review evaluates the current state of evidence assessing the effect of climate change exposures on aspects of education for youth. Studies were categorized and evaluated using the CHANGE (Climate Health ANalysis Grading Evaluation) tool for weight-of-evidence reviews and adaptions of frameworks developed for previous systematic reviews on associations between climate change and education. Thirty-one studies met review criteria and were grouped into five thematic categories based on reported outcomes: Student Learning in the Humanities, Student Learning in Math and Science, Executive Function and Cognition, Attendance and School Closures, and Educational Advancement Milestones. All studies in this review suggest that climate change exposures during childhood negatively impact aspects of education; however, in some instances the mechanisms and ways in which these climate change exposures impacted aspects of education varied by country or geographic setting. The geographic distribution of studies revealed that the United States accounted for the highest number of studies (n = 6), followed by China, India, Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Africa (n = 2 each), with 18 other countries contributing only one study each, highlighting disparities in global research coverage. Twelve of the studies included in this review examined the concept of climate change as a threat multiplier of educational disparities, but no study had it as a primary focus. Future research directions include extending studies beyond traditional test metrics, integrating diverse academic disciplines, exploring a broader array of geographic regions, delving into place-specific nuances, incorporating indigenous and community knowledge, and focusing explicitly on climate change as a threat multiplier for educational disparities.

RevDate: 2025-04-20

Achouri H, Derguini A, Idres T, et al (2025)

Impact of climate change on the toxicity of bisphenol A in Mytilus galloprovincialis and assessment of phycoremediation using Nannochloropsis salina via a multi-biomarker strategy and modeling.

Marine pollution bulletin, 216:118010 pii:S0025-326X(25)00485-0 [Epub ahead of print].

In the current study, the mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis, exposed to four varying temperatures (17, 20, 23, and 26 °C), were contaminated with 50 μg/L of bisphenol A both with and without Nannochloropsis salina. The toxicity evaluation is determined by quantifying various biomarkers related to oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, and cellular damage. The key findings indicate that the toxicity of bisphenol A is heightened by rising temperature. The impact of bisphenol A is most evident at 26 °C, leading to excessive production of reactive oxygen species, depletion of non-enzymatic antioxidants, and activation of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione-S-transferase). The rise in malondialdehyde levels confirms lipid peroxidation caused by bisphenol A and intensified by thermal stress. These findings have been supported by strong molecular interactions between bisphenol A and lectin mytilec apo-form and proximal thread matrix protein 1 from M. galloprovincialis following the computational modeling assay. The incorporation of N. salina as a food additive helped, firstly, to mitigate the stress effects and, secondly, resulted in a noticeable enhancement of oxidative balance and filtration ability, along with decreased lipid peroxidation.

RevDate: 2025-04-19

Su Y, Chen S, Sui Y, et al (2025)

Gaining water bodies by climate change benefits water crisis mitigation in central Asia.

Science bulletin pii:S2095-9273(25)00336-6 [Epub ahead of print].

Central Asia (CA) faces a severe water crisis exemplified by the shrinking Aral Sea. However, little is known about the entire region, particularly the numerous small water bodies that are vulnerable to climate change yet vital for regional sustainability. We examined water bodies as small as 0.0045 km[2] across CA from 1992 to 2020, identifying 66,215 water bodies in 2020, 82.2% of which were previously unstudied. In contrast to the well-documented decline of the Aral Sea, other water bodies have expanded by 10.7% (8714.3 km[2]), with a net gain of 15,831 lakes since 1992. These findings challenge the perception of a drying CA and provide evidence of a warm-wet climate trend, which is redistributing water resources and creating opportunities for transforming water management to address the long-standing water crisis in CA.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-19

Krah CY, Burke DT, Bahramian M, et al (2025)

Quantifying metabolic food waste and associated global warming potential attributable to overweight and obese adults in a temperate high-income region.

Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 209:116309.

Traditional discussions on food waste often excludes metabolic food waste (MFW), which occurs when individuals consume food beyond their caloric needs. This study is the first to quantify MFW among adults with excess body weight (overweight and obese) in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and globally the first to explore its socioeconomic and health-related predictors. Using an online food frequency questionnaire, MFW was estimated via the excess energy intake method, and Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was applied to identify significant predictors of MFW volumes. Median per capita MFW was 121.84 kg/year, with potatoes being the most wasted food item (23.4 kg/year). Significant predictors of higher MFW included higher body weight (B = 0.024, p < 0.001), male gender (B = -0.812, p < 0.001), younger age (25-34 years) (B = 0.151, p = 0.035), omnivorous diets (B = 0.277, p < 0.001), and higher grocery shopping frequency (B = 0.032, p < 0.001). Conversely, individuals who prioritized price over taste in food purchases exhibited significantly lower MFW volumes (B = -0.137, p = 0.025). The annual total volumes of MFW (0.3 Mt./yr) generated by excess body weight adults in ROI is also responsible for 1.5 Mt. CO2e/yr emissions nationally. These findings position MFW as a critical yet underexplored dimension of food waste with profound implications for public health and environmental policies, aligning with SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).

RevDate: 2025-04-19

Wang D, Kim BF, Nachman KE, et al (2025)

Impact of climate change on arsenic concentrations in paddy rice and the associated dietary health risks in Asia: an experimental and modelling study.

The Lancet. Planetary health pii:S2542-5196(25)00055-5 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Rising global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and surface temperatures could negatively affect rice yields and nutritional quality; however, their effects on arsenic accumulation in paddy rice have not been assessed concurrently. We aimed to assess the impact of increases in CO2 and temperature (individually and in combination) on arsenic concentrations in rice, characterise soil properties that might influence arsenic uptake, and model the associated risks of cancer and other health outcomes due to increased arsenic exposure.

METHODS: For this modelling study we performed in-situ multi-varietal trials using Free-Air CO2 Enrichment platforms with and without supplemental temperature to examine the bioaccumulation of arsenic in paddy rice and the underlying biogeochemical mechanisms from 2014 to 2023. We modelled dietary inorganic arsenic exposure and the associated risks of cancer and non-cancer health outcomes via rice consumption for seven of the leading rice-consuming countries in east and southeast Asia.

FINDINGS: Concomitant increases in CO2 and temperature resulted in a synergistic increase of inorganic arsenic in rice grain. The observed increase is likely to be related to changes in soil biogeochemistry that favoured reduced arsenic species. Modelled consumption of rice under these conditions resulted in projected increases in inorganic arsenic exposure and lifetime cancer and health risks for multiple Asian countries by 2050.

INTERPRETATION: Inorganic arsenic exposure and the associated health consequences might increase in rice grain grown in flooded systems with mid-century climate projections. The current assessment reinforces the urgent need for mitigation of arsenic exposure in rice relative to near-term climate change.

FUNDING: National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province, China, Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Special Fund for Science and Technology from Nanjing Science and Technology Bureau, Key Research and Development Program of Jiangsu Province, Erdos City Science and Technology Major Project, Science Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Special Fund for Science and Technology from Jiangsu Science and Technology Department, and "0-1" Original Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-19

Mohamed M, Amin S, Lever E, et al (2025)

Climate change and child wellbeing: a systematic evidence and gap map on impacts, mitigation, and adaptation.

The Lancet. Planetary health, 9(4):e337-e346.

We developed a systematic evidence and gap map (2014-24) to assess how climate change impacts, mitigation, and adaptation affect the wellbeing of children aged 0-18 years globally, and discussed findings with the Children in All Policies 2030 Youth Advisory Board. Health was the most researched child wellbeing domain (84%; 948 of 1127 studies), followed by education (15%; n=171), and food security and nutrition (14%; n=160). Research on children's agency and resilience, displacement, socioeconomic distress, and safety received less attention. Health research gaps included limited studies on vector-borne diseases, children's mental health beyond post-traumatic stress disorder, and health outcomes for children aged 5-18 years. Mitigation and adaptation research focused largely on educational (45%; 114 of 252 studies) and behavioural changes (31%; n=79), with gaps in the evaluation of financing, infrastructure, technology, clean energy, and policy actions. Youth advisory board members emphasised the importance of schools, social media, and intergenerational dialogue in driving climate action while protecting children's wellbeing.

RevDate: 2025-04-22
CmpDate: 2025-04-19

Fisher G, Smith CL, Pagano L, et al (2025)

Leveraging implementation science to solve the big problems: a scoping review of health system preparations for the effects of pandemics and climate change.

The Lancet. Planetary health, 9(4):e326-e336.

As the planet warms and pandemics become more common, health systems will face disruptions to both their service delivery and their workforce. To minimise the severity of these impacts, health systems will need to efficiently and rapidly prepare, adapt, and respond. Implementation science will be crucial to the success of these actions. However, the extent to which health systems are using implementation science to address the pressures of pandemics and climate change is not currently known. In this scoping review, we aimed to address this research gap. We reviewed empirical studies that used implementation science to adapt, respond to, or prepare a health-care setting for a pandemic or climate-related event, defining components of implementation science (as proposed by Nilsen [2015]) and implementation evaluation outcomes (as proposed by Proctor and colleagues [2011]). We found a growing evidence base describing the use of implementation science in health system responses to pandemics (n=54 studies), but a dearth of similar evidence for climate change (n=2 studies). Future research could benefit from applying the principles of implementation science in pre-implementation phases and purposefully planning for long-term, ongoing evaluations, which will facilitate tailored and sustainable health system responses to climate-related and pandemic events.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-19

Viennet E, Dean MM, Kircher J, et al (2025)

Blood under pressure: how climate change threatens blood safety and supply chains.

The Lancet. Planetary health, 9(4):e304-e313.

Climate change substantially threatens public health, including the blood supply chain, which is crucial for medical treatments such as surgeries, trauma care, and chronic disease management. Extreme weather events, vector-borne disease shifts, and temperature fluctuations can disrupt blood collection, testing, transport, and storage, threatening both the safety and sufficiency of blood products. Although studies have highlighted some connections between climate change, transfusion-transmissible infections, and blood safety, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding of the climate effects on each supply chain stage. In this Personal View, we address the potential climate-driven challenges across the blood supply chain, from donor health to blood component stability, emphasising the importance of proactive measures. To protect the availability and safety of blood supplies in an evolving climate, further research and adaptive strategies are needed to build a resilient blood supply system that can withstand emerging climate-related disruptions.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-19

Wan K, Gampe D, S Hajat (2025)

Disentangling the contributions of anthropogenic climate change, greenhouse gases, and aerosols to heat-related mortality in Great Britain: a climate change impact attribution study.

The Lancet. Planetary health, 9(4):e274-e283.

BACKGROUND: Anthropogenic aerosols are a critical contributor to climate change and their net cooling effects can partially counter the warming effects of greenhouse gases, but they are rarely considered in health impact attribution studies of climate change. The aim of this study was to attribute heat-related deaths in Great Britain to anthropogenic climate change and individual forcings of greenhouse gases and aerosols.

METHODS: Using a special suite of climate simulations, past and future heat-related deaths in Great Britain attributable to the relative contributions of anthropogenic greenhouse gas and aerosol forcings were estimated under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway SSP2-4.5. Empirical confidence intervals were quantified combining uncertainties from climate models and health risk functions.

FINDINGS: Emergence of heat-related mortality associated with anthropogenic climate change was partially counteracted by the cooling effects of aerosols, with the time of emergence being approximately four decades later compared with the greenhouse gas-only simulation. We estimate that around 700 annual heat-related deaths during 1961-1980 were masked by the cooling effects of aerosols. There was a sharp increase in heat-deaths between 1980 and 2020 due to the combined effects of greenhouse gas increases and large aerosol reductions. By the end of the 21st century, a 2-6-fold increase in heat-related deaths due to greenhouse gases is projected, with a negligible counteracting contribution of aerosols.

INTERPRETATION: In addition to greenhouse gases, the potential contributions of aerosols should be considered when assessing climate change risks and mitigation pathways. This is crucial due to their opposing temperature effects, diverging future emission trajectories, and varying geographical scales. Separate attribution of climate change impacts to the global effects of greenhouse gases and local effects of aerosols can enhance transparency and equity, and can inform loss and damage funding models. Such impact attribution assessments can help to optimise health co-benefits and prevent unintended negative consequences of environmental policies on heat-related and air pollution-related health outcomes.

FUNDING: Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Change and Health, National Institute for Health and Care Research.

RevDate: 2025-04-19

Epstein TEG, Rorie AC, Ramon GD, et al (2025)

Impact of climate change on aerobiology, rhinitis, and allergen immunotherapy: Work Group Report from the Aerobiology, Rhinitis, Rhinosinusitis & Ocular Allergy, and Immunotherapy, Allergen Standardization & Allergy Diagnostics Committees of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology pii:S0091-6749(25)00268-4 [Epub ahead of print].

Climate change is imposing a profound effect on health conditions triggered by environmental exposures. Climate change has affected aeroallergens in numerous ways, including: (1) changes in the vegetation microbiome distribution, (2) increases in C4 grasses globally, (3) increased occurrence of acute weather events, (4) increases in ambient temperature that amplify fungal spore concentration and pollen season duration, and (5) increased allergenicity of pollen and fungi due to exposure to higher levels of carbon dioxide, ozone, and diesel exhaust particles. In addition, greenhouse gases and air pollutants disrupt the epithelial barrier, trigger eosinophilic inflammation, and serve as adjuvants that stimulate IgE-mediated responses. All of these factors have influenced the prevalence and morbidity of allergic rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis, and chronic rhinosinusitis. Data regarding changes in aeroallergen exposures due to climate change are lacking, and longitudinal sensitization data are rarely available. Allergists need to adapt diagnostic and treatment strategies to limit aeroallergen and air pollutant exposure and facilitate desensitization. Steps needed to address these challenges include: (1) expanding local measurement of pollen and fungal spores, (2) increasing the intensity of allergen avoidance measures, (3) addressing supply chain issues, and (4) promoting collaboration between allergists, insurance companies, aeroallergen manufacturers, and regulatory agencies.

RevDate: 2025-04-21
CmpDate: 2025-04-19

Wen S, Chen H, J Su (2025)

Engaging health professionals in climate change: a cross-national study of psychological distance across 12 countries.

BMC public health, 25(1):1455.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the psychological distance (PD) of health professionals toward climate change is essential to promote effective climate action and informed health policy. While climate change poses a global health threat requiring urgent collaboration, limited cross-national research exists on health professionals' perspectives, particularly on how they perceive PD in relation to climate change.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to provide initial insights into how health professionals perceive climate change across different countries, focusing on key factors influencing PD, including personal experiences, uncertainty, perceptions, information environments, global interconnectedness, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

METHODS: This research employed an exploratory mixed-methods approach, combining descriptive surveys and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 early-to-mid-career health professionals from 12 countries. This design facilitated a nuanced exploration of the dimensions of PD-temporal, spatial, social, and uncertainty-related-by integrating quantitative data with qualitative insights to uncover emerging trends and hypotheses.

RESULTS: Findings reveal diverse perceptions of PD among health professionals, shaped by contextual factors such as exposure to extreme weather, information environments, and infrastructure development. These results challenge the oversimplified view that professionals in developing countries consistently perceive climate change impacts as more distant, underscoring the need for localized understandings of PD.

CONCLUSION: Assessing PD requires consideration of its diverse dimensions to inform effective climate-related behaviors and interventions. Tailored communication strategies reflecting unique national and regional contexts are essential to engage health professionals, enabling them to drive climate discourse and policy advocacy. This study highlights the potential of the early-to-mid-career health professionals in bridging the gap between public awareness and climate action. Their unique position enables them to drive long-term climate adaptation and policy implementation, fostering both global and localized solutions to climate challenges.

RevDate: 2025-04-18

Nogueira LM, Sakka R, C Jovanovic (2025)

A recipe for a disaster: food, climate change, and cancer.

Cancer causes & control : CCC [Epub ahead of print].

Climate change impacts each step of the cancer control continuum, from prevention to survivorship. Importantly, several human activities driving greenhouse gas emissions also impact cancer risk and outcomes. Therefore, there is significant overlap between climate and cancer control solutions. This article describes the connection between the current food system, climate change, and cancer; one realm of human activities with enormous potential for modifications and implementation of win-win solutions.

RevDate: 2025-04-21

Turner S, Hannaford J, Barker LJ, et al (2025)

ROBIN: Reference observatory of basins for international hydrological climate change detection.

Scientific data, 12(1):654.

Human-induced warming is modifying the water cycle. Adaptation to posed threats requires an understanding of hydrological responses to climate variability. Whilst these can be computationally modelled, observed streamflow data is essential for constraining models, and understanding and quantifying emerging trends in the water cycle. To date, the identification of such trends at the global scale has been hindered by data limitations - in particular, the prevalence of direct human influences on streamflow which can obscure climate-driven variability. By removing these influences, trends in streamflow data can be more confidently attributed to climate variability. Here we describe the Reference Observatory of Basins for INternational hydrological climate change detection (ROBIN) - the first iteration of a global network of streamflow data from national reference hydrological networks (RHNs) - comprised of catchments which are near-natural or have limited human influences. This collaboration has established a freely available global RHN dataset of over 3,000 catchments and code libraries, which can be used to underpin new science endeavours and advance change detection studies to support international climate policy and adaptation.

RevDate: 2025-04-21
CmpDate: 2025-04-18

Alves-Ferreira G, Heming NM, Talora D, et al (2025)

Climate change is projected to shrink phylogenetic endemism of Neotropical frogs.

Nature communications, 16(1):3713.

Climate change is widely recognized as one of the main threats to biodiversity[1] and predicting its consequences is critical to conservation efforts. A wide range of studies have evaluated the effects of future climate using taxon-based metrics[3,4], but few studies to date have applied a phylogenetic approach to forecast these impacts. Here, we show that future climate change is expected to significantly modify not only species richness, but also phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic endemism of Neotropical frogs. Our results show that by 2050, the ranges of 42.20% (n = 213) of species are projected to shrink and the range of 1.71% of species (n = 9) are projected to disappear. Furthermore, we find that areas of high SR and PD are not always congruent with areas of high PE. Our study highlights the projected impacts of climate change on Neotropical frog diversity and identifies target areas for conservation efforts that consider not just species numbers, but also distinct evolutionary histories.

RevDate: 2025-04-17

Liu G, Snell JC, Griffiths TL, et al (2025)

Binary climate data visuals amplify perceived impact of climate change.

Nature human behaviour [Epub ahead of print].

For much of the global population, climate change appears as a slow, gradual shift in daily weather. This leads many to perceive its impacts as minor and results in apathy (the 'boiling frog' effect). How can we convey the urgency of the crisis when its impacts appear so subtle? Here, through a series of large-scale cognitive experiments (N = 799), we find that presenting people with binary climate data (for example, lake freeze history) significantly increases the perceived impact of climate change (Cohen's d = 0.40, 95% confidence interval 0.26-0.54) compared with continuous data (for example, mean temperature). Computational modelling and follow-up experiments (N = 398) suggest that binary data enhance perceived impact by creating an 'illusion' of sudden shifts. Crucially, our approach does not involve selective data presentation but rather compares different datasets that reflect equivalent trends in climate change over time. These findings, robustly replicated across multiple experiments, provide a cognitive basis for the 'boiling frog' effect and offer a psychologically grounded approach for policymakers and educators to improve climate change communication while maintaining scientific accuracy.

RevDate: 2025-04-20
CmpDate: 2025-04-17

González C, Calderón JM, López AM, et al (2025)

Species-specific variation in predicted distribution and habitat suitability of phlebotomine sand flies in Italy under different climate change scenarios.

Scientific reports, 15(1):13297.

The incidence of human and canine leishmaniasis in Europe is increasing and is a key indicator in the Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change 2024. While the potential distribution of the disease on a continental scale has been assessed under climate change scenarios, local analyses of vector species distribution are crucial for effective prevention strategies. Italy is endemic for Leishmania infantum, and expansions in the latitudinal and altitudinal distribution of canine cases and vector species have been recorded. This study evaluated the potential distribution of six phlebotomine sand fly species, known or suspected vectors of L. infantum, under climate change scenarios using ecological niche modeling and the maximum entropy (MaxEnt v. 3.4.1) modeling algorithm. We analyzed 410 records from 1979 to 2013 and projected future distributions for 2041-2060 and 2061-2080 using five CMIP5 models and two representative concentration pathways. Historical data from 1968 to 1972 were also examined to confirm suitable areas. The predictions indicate suitable habitats for sand flies throughout Italy, and variations among the different scenarios evaluated. All species show potential for expansion, such as the main vector, P. perniciosus, which shows an increase in the percentage of suitable habitat over time. On the other hand, predictions for P. perfiliewi don't show a clear pattern, with an initial decrease and subsequent increase in suitable areas. Shifts in the distribution of insect vectors may affect the dynamics of Leishmania transmission, highlighting the need for improved surveillance strategies.

RevDate: 2025-04-17

O'Reilly S, Griffiths J, Fox L, et al (2025)

Climate change impacts and sustainability integration among breast international group members.

Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland), 81:104469 pii:S0960-9776(25)00486-2 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Integration of sustainability measures into clinical research would translate into less healthcare related climate impacts.

METHODS: We assessed climate change impacts, existing sustainability engagement, and challenges and facilitators to climate change mitigation strategies among Breast International Group (BIG) members. A 30 item web based survey assessing climate impacts, sustainability engagement, challenges to and facilitators of engagement, and sustainability integration in funding applications was developed, and circulated electronically between November 2023 and March 2024.

RESULTS: Thirty four members (research groups and data centres) and participating sites across 5 continents, and BIG headquarters responded. Twenty six responses were received from 21 organisations, 20 from 17 participating sites. No responses were obtained from 28 groups. Trial conduct at a third of member groups had been impacted by climate change impacts such as destroyed infrastructure. 78 % of groups agreed that sustainability should feature in future funding applications. Most respondents engaged in sustainability initiatives at a host institute and organisational level. However, 39 % of coordinating centres and 65 % of representative sites had none within clinical trials conducted by their organisation. The majority of respondents foresaw challenges to sustainability engagement including competing time pressure, staff attitudes and resource constraints. Of nine potential facilitators to engagement, funding, an evidence base for sustainable research practice and training were the leading themes.

CONCLUSION: In the first global survey of its kind, a third of respondents reported that climate change had impacted trial conduct. Integration of sustainability measures was absent in a significant minority. Funding and dedicated resourcing would facilitate increased engagement in cancer clinical trials.

RevDate: 2025-04-17

Dias CG, Martins FB, Martins MA, et al (2025)

Breaking new ground: First AquaCrop calibration and climate change impact assessment on Arabica coffee.

The Science of the total environment, 978:179418 pii:S0048-9697(25)01055-1 [Epub ahead of print].

Climate change threatens global coffee yield stability, especially in Brazil, the largest Arabica exporter. Yield modeling is key to climate-resilient strategies and effective planning. To this end, the AquaCrop model was parameterized, calibrated, and validated for Arabica coffee in Brazil and subsequently applied to project yield under future climate scenarios. These processes were carried out across 58 municipalities in Brazil's two largest coffee-growing regions, covering the growing years from 2014 to 2019. AquaCrop accurately simulated Arabica coffee yield during calibration and validation processes, with root mean square error values of ∼0.15 t ha[-1], mean bias error of ∼0.007 t ha[-1], and d-index of ∼0.76. To project yield, AquaCrop used as input daily near-surface air temperature (minimum and maximum), precipitation, and reference evapotranspiration data from 9 General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP), which are derived from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios (SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5). Under future climate conditions, reductions in the coffee growing cycle duration and heterogeneous yield changes are projected, with increases (between 0.25 and 0.55 t ha[-1]) along a belt extending from southeastern São Paulo to southern Minas Gerais, and decreases (between -0.05 and -0.15 t ha[-1]) in northeastern Minas Gerais. Even though yield increases are projected for much of the study region, adopting effective adaptive measures will be essential to address climate change threats.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-17

Martínez ML, Silva R, Chávez V, et al (2025)

The challenges of climate change and human impacts faced by Mexican coasts: A comprehensive evaluation.

PloS one, 20(4):e0320087.

The extensive shoreline of Mexico is heterogeneous and diverse, but it is increasingly exposed to degradation and loss. This is the first study performed at a national level and with a multidisciplinary approach, that aims to assess the impact of climate change and human-related pressures affecting Mexican coasts. From 1863 to 2022, 386 tropical cyclones have landed on Mexican coasts, six of them of category 5 (most on the Atlantic). Sea level rise projections showed that the Atlantic coast is the most vulnerable, whereas intense coastal erosion (> 25m/year) is more widespread on the northern Pacific coast. Human impacts include coastal urbanization, ecosystem degradation and coastal armouring. Six million people live on Mexican coasts, mostly in the Caribbean. Mangroves and coastal dunes each cover nearly 800,000 ha. The mangroves are relatively well preserved, but almost half the area of the coastal dunes is degraded. Coastal armouring is widespread along the coasts, but most of these structures (55%) are found on the Yucatan peninsula. Activities required to improve the condition of Mexican coasts and make them a sustainable place to live would include: adaptation of human settlements to the conditions of the dynamic coasts; appropriate coastal protection measures that do not induce downdrift erosion; dealing with coastal risks by restoring and preserving coastal ecosystems.

RevDate: 2025-04-17
CmpDate: 2025-04-17

Vercammen A, Wray B, Crider YS, et al (2025)

Psychological impacts of climate change on US youth.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(16):e2311400122.

Awareness of the threats of climate change is causing distress in increasingly documented ways, with youth particularly affected. Experiences such as climate distress and eco-anxiety have implications for the health and well-being of societies and economies, including individuals' mental health and future planning, as well as their agency beliefs. Here, we show in a large sample of US youth (n = 2,834, ages 16 to 24) that the majority of US youth experience moderate climate distress and some functional interference from climate-related thoughts and feelings and a neutral to slightly positive sense of agency. They feel concern, interest, disappointment, frustration, sadness, anxiousness, and anger as affective responses to the crisis, and a majority report that their climate awareness may influence their plans for education, travel, and family planning. The key takeaway of this study is that the psychological impacts of climate change in US youth can have either impairing or strengthening effects, especially in the face of increased perceived direct exposure. Results show that self-reported direct experience of climate-related events is associated with increased eco-anxiety, climate distress, and impact of climate change on future planning, but also fortifying responses such as psychological adaptation and agency. These findings highlight the need for health systems and communities to prepare to address increased climate distress and related concerns in US youth as perceived exposure to climate-related hazards increases, in ways that strengthen healthy coping and agency to act. These findings have implications for the mental health of populations, climate behaviors, and life choices of young people experiencing these threats.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-17

Kapazoglou A, Tani E, Papasotiropoulos V, et al (2025)

Enhancing Abiotic Stress Resilience in Mediterranean Woody Perennial Fruit Crops: Genetic, Epigenetic, and Microbial Molecular Perspectives in the Face of Climate Change.

International journal of molecular sciences, 26(7):.

Enhanced abiotic stresses such as increased drought, elevated temperatures, salinity, and extreme weather phenomena severely affect major crops in the Mediterranean area, a 'hot spot' of climate change. Plants have evolved mechanisms to face stressful conditions and adapt to increased environmental pressures. Intricate molecular processes involving genetic and epigenetic factors and plant-microbe interactions have been implicated in the response and tolerance to abiotic stress. Deciphering the molecular mechanisms whereby plants perceive and respond to stress is crucial for developing strategies to counteract climate challenges. Progress in determining genes, complex gene networks, and biochemical pathways, as well as plant-microbiota crosstalk, involved in abiotic stress tolerance has been achieved through the application of molecular tools in diverse genetic resources. This knowledge could be particularly useful for accelerating plant improvement and generating resilient varieties, especially concerning woody perennial crops, where classical breeding is a lengthy and labor-intensive process. Similarly, understanding the mechanisms of plant-microbe interactions could provide insights into innovative approaches to facing stressful conditions. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview and discuss the recent findings concerning the genetic, epigenetic, and microbial aspects shaping abiotic stress responses, in the context of enhancing resilience in important Mediterranean woody perennial fruit crops.

RevDate: 2025-04-17
CmpDate: 2025-04-17

Tavares-Cohén GA, Simões-Castro AP, Andrade-Sales C, et al (2025)

Impact of climate change and social determinants on the spatial and epidemiological distribution of tuberculosis in the state of Pará: a perspective for COP 30.

Brazilian journal of biology = Revista brasleira de biologia, 85:e293623 pii:S1519-69842025000100155.

Tuberculosis is a critical public health challenge in Brazil, with the state of Pará reporting high incidence rates driven by social inequalities, rapid urbanization, and adverse climatic conditions. This study analyzes the epidemiology of tuberculosis in the Metropolitan Region of Belém from 2018 to 2022, correlating social and environmental determinants with the impacts of climate change. Georeferenced data, temporal analysis, and predictive modeling were employed to identify epidemiological patterns and high-incidence clusters. Belém accounted for 60.1% of cases in the region, highlighting the influence of population density and socioeconomic vulnerabilities exacerbated by extreme climatic events. The findings underscore the need to integrate public policies and sustainability, emphasizing COP30 as an opportunity to catalyze both local and global actions.

RevDate: 2025-04-17

Erkan FM, F Kavak Budak (2025)

The correlation between global climate change anxiety and death anxiety in women: A case study from the zone of 6 February earthquake.

The International journal of social psychiatry [Epub ahead of print].

AIM: This study aims to determine the correlation between global climate change anxiety and death anxiety in women.

METHOD: The population of this correlational descriptive study consisted of women who lived in a informal living conditions in a province due to the earthquake. Five hundred women were included in the study. The data were collected using a Descriptive Characteristics Form, the Climate Change Anxiety Scale, and the Death Anxiety Scale by holding face-to-face interviews with women who lived in the informal living conditions between June and September 2024.

FINDINGS: The total mean score of the women on the climate change anxiety scale was 20.73 ± 8.05. The total mean score of the participants on the death anxiety scale was 9.55 ± 3.34 (Table 2). A statistically significant positive weak correlation was found between the total mean score of the participants on the Climate Change Anxiety Scale and their total mean score on the Death Anxiety Scale (p < .05).

CONCLUSION: The anxiety level of the participants about climate change could be considered to be low. The death anxiety score of the women was 'severe'. As the climate change anxiety of the participants increased, so did their death anxiety.

RevDate: 2025-04-18

Aziz M, G Anjum (2025)

Rethinking knowledge systems in psychology: addressing epistemic hegemony and systemic obstacles in climate change studies.

Frontiers in psychology, 16:1533802.

Climate psychology has emerged as a critical field examining how individuals and societies perceive, respond to, and engage with the climate crisis. However, the discipline remains deeply influenced by Western epistemologies, which privilege individualistic, anthropocentric, and positivist approaches to knowledge production. This perspective paper critically examines how Western bias shapes the theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and policy implications within climate psychology, often to the exclusion of non-Western epistemologies, particularly those from Indigenous and Global South communities. We argue that dominant Western paradigms, rooted in individualism, cognitive-behavioral models, and human-exceptionalist perspectives, constrain the field's ability to fully capture the complex, relational, and context-specific ways in which diverse populations engage with climate change. Moreover, the overreliance on quantitative and experimental methodologies systematically marginalizes Indigenous methodologies, such as storytelling, relational worldviews, and participatory research approaches, thereby limiting the inclusivity and ecological validity of climate psychology research. To address these limitations, we propose a decolonial approach to climate psychology, advocating for the integration of Indigenous epistemologies, pluralistic methodologies, and equitable research collaborations. By diversifying epistemic foundations and methodological tools, climate psychology can move beyond its Western biases, leading to more culturally responsive research and more effective and just climate interventions. This paper calls for a fundamental reorientation in climate psychology, one that values epistemic diversity as essential for addressing the multifaceted human dimensions of climate change.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-17

Shen Z, Giljohann K, Liu Z, et al (2025)

Novel wildfire regimes under climate change and human activity: patterns, driving mechanisms and ecological impacts.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 380(1924):20230446.

Fire regime refers to the statistical characteristics of fire events within specific spatio-temporal contexts, shaped by interactions among climatic conditions, vegetation types and natural or anthropogenic ignitions. Under the dual pressures of intensified global climate changes and human activities, fire regimes worldwide are undergoing unprecedented transformations, marked by increasing frequency of large and intense wildfires in some regions, yet declining fire activity in others. These fire regime changes (FRC) may drive responses in ecosystem structure and function across spatio-temporal scales, posing significant challenges to socio-economic adaptation and mitigation capacities. To date, research on the patterns and mechanisms of global FRC has rapidly expanded, with investigations into driving factors revealing complex interactions. This review synthesizes research advancements in FRC by analysing 17 articles from this special issue and 249 additional publications retrieved from the Web of Science. We systematically outline the key characteristics of FRC, geographical hotspots of fire regime transformation, critical fire-prone vegetation types, primary climatic and anthropogenic drivers and ecosystem adaptations and feedbacks. Finally, we highlight research frontiers and identify key approaches to advance this field and emphasize an interdisciplinary perspective in understanding and adapting to FRC.This article is part of the theme issue 'Novel fire regimes under climate changes and human influences: impacts, ecosystem responses and feedbacks'.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-17

Ruffatto K, Minello LVP, Furtado BG, et al (2025)

Nanoparticles as tools for enhancing plant resistance to biotic stress in the context of climate change.

Physiologia plantarum, 177(2):e70227.

In the face of climate change, agriculture is increasingly challenged by shifting dynamics of biotic stresses, including the intensified spread of pests and pathogens. Traditional control methods, often reliant on chemical pesticides, are associated with environmental degradation and potential health risks. Nanoparticles (NPs) present a promising, sustainable alternative for enhancing plant resistance to biotic stresses, potentially revolutionizing agricultural practices. This mini-review explores the mechanisms through which NP-based formulations (such as metal-based NPs, chitosan, and silica) induce plant responses and bolster defences against pathogens and pests. By enhancing plant resilience without the environmental downsides of conventional pesticides, NPs could support a more sustainable approach to crop protection. This review also highlights the potential risks in expanding the use of NPs in agriculture, urging more studies to explore these technologies as a sustainable approach to managing crops in a changing climate.

RevDate: 2025-04-16

Shacheri F, Czuba JA, MA Perkins (2025)

Isolating the compounding effects of dam hydropeaking and climate change on freshwater mussel recruitment.

The Science of the total environment, 977:179390 pii:S0048-9697(25)01027-7 [Epub ahead of print].

Dam hydropeaking events, which are short-term variations in river flow because of turning turbines on and off to satisfy the sub-daily energy demand, affect riverine ecosystems. Our study area is the mostly forested Dan River in North Carolina where upstream dam operations affect streamflow and where the endangered James spinymussel (Parvaspina collina, JSM) has declined over time; conditions characteristic of many rivers. Wildlife managers across the Eastern U.S., and in North Carolina specifically, are seeking actionable knowledge to improve habitat conditions for freshwater mussels. Here, water is a key societal resource for power generation, but a risk factor during certain time periods of a freshwater mussel's life cycle. This study evaluates the relative contribution of hydropeaking and climate change in affecting freshwater mussel populations, in general, and freshwater mussel recruitment, specifically. We isolated hydropeaking events and calculated various hydrological metrics from the hydrograph (15-min interval) between 2001 and 2022 of the regulated Dan River and compared them to those from the adjacent unregulated Mayo River. Our major finding is that low-flow events, which are decreasing in part due to climate change, are important for freshwater mussel recruitment, and these low flows are being disrupted by dam releases, which are occurring more frequently, that together are correlated with a decrease in the JSM population in the Dan River. This study provides actionable knowledge for decision-makers and river managers to promote sustainable coexistence of human needs (e.g., hydropower generation) and ecological conservation.

RevDate: 2025-04-16

Fanzo J, Carducci B, Louis-Jean J, et al (2025)

Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, Food Security, and Nutrition: Evolving Relationships and Critical Challenges.

Annual review of nutrition [Epub ahead of print].

Climate change, also known as global warming, poses significant challenges for both the planet and humanity. With further warming, every region across the world is projected to increasingly experience concurrent and multiple changes in climate, compounding overall risk. Long-term climate change and near-term extreme weather events have multiple negative effects on food security, diets, and nutrition via complex, multidirectional pathways through food, health, water, and social protection systems. However, measuring climate-attributable malnutrition impacts, especially among the most vulnerable populations, remains challenging. Changes in climate across a range of geographies have been modeled, projected, and observed showing detrimental associations with dietary and nutrition outcomes, particularly undernutrition. Many of these undernourished populations are climate vulnerable due to a variety of determinants challenging their ability to adapt to impending risks. While nutrition integration within climate adaptation plans have lagged, there is momentum for robust collaboration between climate and nutrition communities to fill data gaps that are critical for joint decision-making.

RevDate: 2025-04-19
CmpDate: 2025-04-16

Nasab FK, A Zeraatkar (2025)

Assessing the impact of global warming on the distributions of Allium stipitatum and Kelussia odoratissima in the Central Zagros using a MaxEnt model.

PloS one, 20(4):e0321167.

Global warming is an undeniable fact occurring in different parts of the world. Climate changes can have irreversible effects on plant communities, particularly on endemic and endangered species. Therefore, it is important to predict the impact of climate change on the distribution of these species to help protect them. This study utilized the MaxEnt model to forecast the impact of climate change on the distributions of two medicinal, edible, and aromatic species, Kelussia odoratissima and Allium stipitatum, in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. The study used the CCSM4 general circulation model along with two climate scenarios, RCP2.6 and RCP8.5, for the 2050s and 2070s to predict the potential impact of climate change on the distribution of the species studied. The research findings indicated that the model performed effectively for prediction (AUC≥0.9). The primary environmental variables influencing species distribution were found to be isothermality (Bio3), soil organic carbon, and pH for A. stipitatum, and soil organic carbon, precipitation seasonality (Bio15), and precipitation of the wettest month (Bio13) for K. odoratissima. The findings suggest that the distribution of the studied species is expected to decline in the 2050s and 2070s due to climate change, under both the RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios. The research indicates that climate change is likely to have a significantly negative effect on the habitats of these species, leading to important ecological and socio-economic impacts. Therefore, our study emphasizes the urgent need for conservation efforts to prevent their extinction and protect their habitats.

RevDate: 2025-04-16
CmpDate: 2025-04-16

Sack TL, Thiravialingam AR, Zubizarreta CS, et al (2025)

Heat Illness and Extreme Weather Health Literacy: Communication Preferences and Effectiveness for Patients Living in Climate-Change-Vulnerable Communities.

International journal of environmental research and public health, 22(3):.

Health professionals are trusted information sources and could be valuable for improving climate change health literacy. Few studies address teaching patients about health risks associated with climate change, and no studies have focused on the medical office waiting room as a teaching site for populations from heat-vulnerable neighborhoods. We gave adult patients in primary care office waiting rooms printed teaching materials about heat-related illnesses. We asked them to read these at home and then complete an online confidential survey concerning their preferences among teaching methods and their preferences for communication during health emergencies. Ninety-one surveys were received from patients residing in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods. Patients liked receiving information in waiting rooms. Printed brochures were favored statistically by patients, but other teaching methods that are feasible for waiting rooms also rated well, including single-page printed fliers, posters, and video screens. Digital options were far less favored. We conclude that printed teaching materials may improve decisions that impact human health. The medical office waiting room appears to be an accepted, time-efficient, and effective site to communicate knowledge on climate change and health. Additionally, medical offices could play a role supporting government agencies to communicate with patients during weather-related health emergencies.

RevDate: 2025-04-17

Eilam E (2024)

Considering the role of behaviors in sustainability and climate change education.

Frontiers in psychology, 15:1394326.

At the heart of sustainability and climate change education discourse is the notion of student behavioral change, as an emphasized goal. The central positioning of behavior modification raises moral and ethical concerns, as well as concerns regarding the impacts on student well-being. In addressing these issues, this conceptual paper interrogates the role ascribed to student behavior in sustainability education and climate change education. Multiple lenses are applied to critique the behavioral modification approach. Finally, it is proposed to reframe the role of behavior and to conceptualize behavior as forming part of ethics education, where the focus shifts from assigning behavior an instrumental role to conceptualizing its intrinsic educational value.

RevDate: 2025-04-15

Reis J, Öztürk Ş, Ayta S, et al (2025)

Corrigendum to "Health challenges of climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region, with a focus on Türkiye. An environmental neurological and brain health perspective of article" [Journal of the Neurological Sciences, Vol 470 (2025), 123423].

Journal of the neurological sciences, 473:123494 pii:S0022-510X(25)00111-X [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2025-04-15

Editors T (2025)

There Are No Climate Havens: Special regions or areas people can move to that are untouched by climate change do not exist.

Scientific American, 332(5):76.

RevDate: 2025-04-17

Anonymous (2025)

Correction to: Dryland microbiomes reveal community adaptations to desertification and climate change.

The ISME journal, 19(1):.

RevDate: 2025-04-17

Zhang L, Wang P, Xie GL, et al (2025)

Assessing the Potential Distribution of Pseudoechthistatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in China Under Climate Change Using Species Distribution Models.

Ecology and evolution, 15(4):e71303.

Climate change will lead to changes in biological ecosystems, which may affect the geographic distribution of Pseudoechthistatus and thus alter the extent and spatial pattern of its habitat. Pseudoechthistatus plays an important role in biodiversity and has significant ecological value. This study utilized an optimized MaxEnt model to predict the predicted distribution of Pseudoechthistatus in China for the current and future (2050s and 2070s). The results show that the MaxEnt model has high prediction accuracy with AUC values higher than 0.97 for both training and testing. The most influential factors contributing to the distribution of Pseudoechthistatus were temperature seasonality (Bio4) and isothermality (Bio3), accounting for 38.8% and 28.2%, respectively. Furthermore, southern China remains a region of high suitability for Pseudoechthistatus species diversity. However, the Beijing climate center climate system model (BCC-CSM2-MR) predicts a decrease in suitable areas for Pseudoechthistatus, while the model for interdisciplinary research on climate (MIROC6) predicts an increase in medium and low suitable areas for Pseudoechthistatus. Additionally, future climate change will significantly alter its distribution pattern, with Pseudoechthistatus predicted to decrease its suitable area by 6.64%-28.01% under the BCC-CSM2-MR model and increase its suitable area by 6.14%-18.61% under the MIROC6 model. The results show that the MaxEnt model can improve the understanding of the geographical distribution of Pseudoechthistatus in the context of climate change and provide a scientific basis for the identification of potentially suitable habitats and the development of stable suitable areas for conservation.

RevDate: 2025-04-15
CmpDate: 2025-04-15

Kang LF, Zhao RF, Lu HT, et al (2025)

[Quantitative Identification of Impact of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Activities on the Ecological Quality of Vegetation in the Shiyang River Basin over Past 20 Years].

Huan jing ke xue= Huanjing kexue, 46(4):2439-2449.

Climate change and a series of anthropogenic activities have caused significant changes in vegetation. Quantitative identification of the relative contributions of climate change and anthropogenic activities to the interannual changes in vegetation ecological quality in the Shiyang River Basin is of great value for coping with future climatic challenges and implementing ecological protection measures in the Shiyang River Basin. Based on vegetation ecological quality (EQI), combined with multi-source remote sensing data, this study utilized slope trend analysis, partial correlation analysis, and residual analysis to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of vegetation ecological quality change and the partial correlation relationship with climate factors in the Shiyang River Basin and explored the relative contribution of climate change and anthropogenic activities to EQI trend change. The results showed that: ① EQI in the Shiyang River Basin increased steadily from 2002 to 2021, and the growth rate of EQI in the mountain area and oasis was significantly higher than that in the desert area. From southwest to northeast, the distribution pattern increased first and then decreased, and the regions with a faster increase in EQI were distributed around the oasis edge. ② Both temperature and precipitation in the Shiyang River Basin increased during the recent 20 years, and the positive effect of precipitation factor on vegetation greening was greater than that of temperature. ③ Climate change and anthropogenic activities contributed 33% and 67%, respectively, to the increase of EQI in the Shiyang River Basin in the past 20 years, and the positive impact of anthropogenic activities on vegetation ecological quality was continuously strengthened. The research results provide important reference for the formulation of vegetation ecological protection and management policies in the Shiyang River basin.

RevDate: 2025-04-14

Zhang J, RG Cong (2025)

Designing an effective incentive scheme for climate change mitigation in energy forests.

Journal of environmental management, 381:125316 pii:S0301-4797(25)01292-7 [Epub ahead of print].

Energy forests play a crucial role in carbon sequestration and biodiesel production, offering significant potential for mitigating climate change while enhancing energy security. However, current payment schemes are inefficient due to short durations and failure to consider the heterogeneity among private forest owners, leading to suboptimal budget utilisation. This study introduces an innovative "carrot and stick" incentive scheme that integrates subsidies and taxation within a unified framework. By incorporating the social carbon price concept and a principal-agent mechanism into the Land Expectation Value model, the proposed scheme incentivises private forest owners to optimize carbon reductions by accounting for soil quality. Soil quality influences timber yield-contributing to carbon storage in wood biomass-and seed yield, which reduces carbon emissions by substituting diesel with biodiesel. An empirical analysis of Pistacia chinensis forests demonstrates that the proposed scheme can extend optimal rotation ages, especially for forests on low-quality soil. Tailored subsidies that reflect forest heterogeneity further prolong rotation ages, albeit at the cost of government payments in information rents. Meanwhile, taxation ensures alignment between sustainable forest management, biodiesel utilisation, and carbon neutrality objectives. This approach offers actionable insights for policymakers in designing future incentive schemes that promote sustainable forest management and enhance the contribution of forests to climate change mitigation.

RevDate: 2025-04-14

Marcos M, Amores A, Agulles M, et al (2025)

Global warming drives a threefold increase in persistence and 1 [°]C rise in intensity of marine heatwaves.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(16):e2413505122.

Marine heatwaves are extreme climatic events consisting of persistent periods of warm ocean waters that have profound impacts on marine life. These episodes are becoming more intense, longer, and more frequent in response to anthropogenic global warming. Here, we provide a comprehensive and quantitative assessment on the role of global warming on marine heatwaves. To do so, we construct a counterfactual version of observed global sea surface temperatures since 1940, corresponding to a stationary climate without the effect of long-term increasing global temperatures, and use it to calculate the contribution of global air temperature rise on the intensity and persistence of marine heatwaves. We determine that global warming is responsible for nearly half of these extreme events and that, on a global average, it has led to a three-fold increase in the number of days per year that the oceans experience extreme surface heat conditions. We also show that global warming is responsible for an increase of 1 [°]C in the maximum intensity of the events. Our findings highlight the detrimental role that human-induced global warming plays on marine heatwaves. This study supports the need for mitigation and adaptation strategies to address these threats to marine ecosystems.

RevDate: 2025-04-14

Machado J, da Silva MN, Vasconcelos MW, et al (2025)

The Impact Of Climate Change-Induced Abiotic Stresses on the Nutritional Quality of Legume Seeds.

Journal of experimental botany pii:8113200 [Epub ahead of print].

Legumes are integral to agricultural sustainability, offering multifaceted benefits ranging from enhanced yields to companion crops to improved soil health. Despite their recognized advantages, challenges such as technological lock-ins, limited breeding resources, and adverse environmental conditions pose threats to their cultivation. Herein, the complex interaction between climate change stressors - specifically drought, high temperatures, and elevated CO2 levels - and their individual and combined impacts on the nutritional quality of legumes will be discussed. This topic has not been reviewed very often for multiple legume crops, despite its importance under climate change. This review critically examines the impact of environmental stresses on the nutritional quality of legume seeds and explores the underlying regulatory mechanisms, encompassing protein, amino acids, minerals, carbohydrates, lipids, and bioactive compounds. Key insights indicate a general need to shift legume cultivation practices, and the necessity of field studies beyond controlled environments for results that are more readily translated to the target population of environments for legume cultivation.

RevDate: 2025-04-15

Woywodt A, Kuruvilla R, S Stoneman (2025)

Climate change and continued professional development (CPD): Is it time for all CPD diaries to include carbon footprint estimates?.

Future healthcare journal, 12(2):100242.

The triple threat of changing climate, loss of biodiversity and pollution poses a significant challenge to our patients and the planet, and healthcare contributes to all three elements of the threat. The carbon footprint of continued professional development (CPD) is increasingly recognised, although a cognitive dissonance exists whereby climate change is acknowledged but air travel to conferences continues unabated. A CO2 allowance for CPD activities has been suggested previously. We suggest that CO2 footprint estimates could be incorporated into existing CPD diaries as a step towards visualising the environmental impact of CPD. Electronic CPD diaries are already widely used and typically contain dates and locations for CPD activities. It would be relatively easy and inexpensive to add an estimate of CO2 footprint to these diaries. Such an approach would initiate reflection, promote insight and help facilitate behavioural change. We call on institutions involved in CPD licensing, administration and documentation to trial this approach and share their experience.

RevDate: 2025-04-15
CmpDate: 2025-04-14

Schlatter L, Kumar M, P Kumar (2025)

Climate Change and Mental Health Nexus in National Climate Policy-Gaps and Challenges.

Annals of global health, 91(1):19.

Background: Climate change is increasingly recognized as a driver of mental health disorders, exacerbating conditions such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. However, climate policies rarely address mental health considerations. Objective: This study investigates the extent to which mental health is incorporated into national climate adaptation policies, specifically Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), from countries classified as high or very high risk according to the INFORM index. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review and policy analysis of NDCs from 38 high-risk countries. A keyword-based approach was used to assess the frequency and depth of mental health references in climate policies. Findings: Only 8 of 38 countries explicitly referenced mental health in their NDCs. Most policies prioritized physical health, with little attention given to the psychological impacts of climate-related disasters. Vulnerable populations, including children, women, and individuals with preexisting mental health conditions, remain largely unaddressed in these national policies. Conclusions: There is a significant gap in the integration of mental health impact and interventional indicators within climate change policies. Greater investment in interdisciplinary research and policy reforms are needed to ensure climate adaptation strategies address both physical and mental health concerns.

RevDate: 2025-04-16
CmpDate: 2025-04-13

Salmanpour F, Shakoori Z, Rahbarizadeh A, et al (2025)

Climate change impacts on altitudinal movements of society large mammals in the Alborz.

Scientific reports, 15(1):12735.

This study examines the impact of climate change on the altitudinal movement patterns and number of individuals of four large mammal species within the Central Alborz Protected Area (CAPA) region of the Alborz Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot, over a 23-year period (1999 to 2022). During the warm season (May 25-September 29), temperatures were reported to have increased by 2-2.5 °C, while relative humidity was observed to have decreased by 4-4.5%. Compared to the past two decades (2000-2022), Caspian red deer were observed to initiate their annual high-altitude migrations 15-20 days earlier, with the number of individuals in the summer range increasing more than threefold. Wild goats also migrated earlier, with peak arrivals increasing from 20-36 (1999-2003) to 36-57 (2018-2022) between May 25 and May 31, highlighting temperature as the primary driver of herbivore movement. In contrast, brown bears exhibited more subtle altitudinal movement, likely influenced by both temperature and humidity. Wild boars, with an approximate 40% increase in the number of individuals, tended to return to lower elevations earlier than in previous years (1999-2003). These patterns highlight the role of climate as a significant regulator of movement ecology, influencing high-altitude habitat use. However, human-induced barriers, such as roads and settlements, present additional threats to these seasonal migrations. This underscores the urgent need for adaptive management strategies, including the protection of movement corridors, the expansion of core zones, and enhanced community engagement, to support the resilience of these species under changing climatic conditions.

RevDate: 2025-04-16
CmpDate: 2025-04-13

Di Bartolomeo F, Ligresti R, Pettenuzzo S, et al (2025)

Shewanella putrefaciens, an emerging foe from climate change: a case report.

Journal of medical case reports, 19(1):105.

BACKGROUND: Shewanella putrefaciens is a Gram negative, facultatively anerobic bacterium commonly found in aquatic environments and is associated with decomposing organic matter. Although typically nonpathogenic, it has been recognized as an opportunistic pathogen capable of causing rare infections in humans, particularly immunocompromised individuals or those with underlying health conditions.

CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 74-year-old white Italian female who developed a soft tissue infection after sustaining a leg injury and subsequently bathing in the coastal waters of Valencia, Spain. Despite initial treatment with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and wound debridement, the infection persisted. Microbiological analysis revealed the presence of Shewanella putrefaciens and Bacteroides fragilis. The patient required a second-line antibiotic regimen with ciprofloxacin, which successfully resolved the infection, although the patient experienced chronic ankle edema owing to underlying lymphatic insufficiency.

CONCLUSION: This case underscores several critical considerations: the emerging pathogenic potential of S. putrefaciens, the implications of environmental antibiotic resistance, and the increased risk of such infections in the context of global warming and rising sea temperatures. With climate change contributing to warmer aquatic environments, the proliferation of marine bacteria, such as S. putrefaciens, may lead to a growing number of opportunistic infections, emphasizing the need for vigilance in both clinical and environmental health settings.

RevDate: 2025-04-13

Estrada F, Tol RSJ, W Botzen (2025)

Economic consequences of spatial variation and temporal variability of climate change.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences [Epub ahead of print].

Damage functions in integrated assessment models (IAMs) map changes in climate to economic impacts and are central to estimating the social cost of carbon (SCC). However, these functions assume no spatial variation (Svar) and temporal variability (Tvar) in climate changes, potentially biasing estimates and policy advice. While the effects of Tvar have been studied, those of Svar and their interactions with Tvar have not. Here, we allow for Tvar, Svar, and seasonality of damages and show that ignoring these factors significantly biases loss and SCC estimates. Under a high emissions scenario, losses are underestimated by 17-45%, representing US$1.9-US$9.7 trillion by 2050 and US$19-US$70 trillion by 2100 (17-35%). The present value of losses over this century exceeds previous estimates by US$38-US$222 trillion, representing 37-218% of 2020 global gross domestic product (GDP). The present value of losses including climate variability represents about 1.2-11.7% of the present value of global GDP over 2020-2100. The SCC increases by US$20/tCO2, reaching US$106/tCO2. There is large sectoral and regional heterogeneity regarding losses and SCC, with India, Africa, and China accounting for 50% of global SCC, and health and other markets contributing 40%. A more complete climate description than global mean temperature is needed in IAMs to adequately estimate climate change costs.

RevDate: 2025-04-13

Wang B, Tian X, Stranks SD, et al (2025)

Transitioning Photovoltaics to All-Perovskite Tandems Reduces 2050 Climate Change Impacts of PV Sector by 16.

Environmental science & technology [Epub ahead of print].

Solar photovoltaics (PVs) are projected to supply up to 79% of global electricity by 2050. The mass production of energy-intensive silicon PV may lead to significant environmental impacts and material demands. Adopting metal halide perovskite tandem PV can further enhance the sustainability of the PV sector due to their potentially higher efficiency yet lower fabrication emissions than silicon PV. Here, we assess the climate and material demand impacts of perovskite tandem deployment on global and regional PV sectors from 2030 to 2050. In addition to the deployment of perovskite tandem into the silicon-dominated PV sector, we consider the fast, slow, and no transitions from perovskite-silicon tandem as a stepping stone to the final all-perovskite tandem PV. The transition can reduce up to 0.43 Mt tin requirement and 16.2% of cumulative carbon emissions from the PV fabrication process. Even without all-perovskite deployment, perovskite-silicon PV can still generate up to a 10.8% cumulative carbon reduction compared to silicon PV scenarios. Besides, the deployment of perovskite tandem systems can reduce energy costs by up to 21.2%, achieving a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) as low as 3.66 cents/kWh. Achieving these results requires replacing resource-limiting components, such as substituting indium-tin-oxide with fluorinated-tin-oxide analogs.

RevDate: 2025-04-15
CmpDate: 2025-04-12

Ferrer Obiol J, Bounas A, Brambilla M, et al (2025)

Evolutionarily distinct lineages of a migratory bird of prey show divergent responses to climate change.

Nature communications, 16(1):3503.

Accurately predicting species' responses to anthropogenic climate change is hampered by limited knowledge of their spatiotemporal ecological and evolutionary dynamics. We combine landscape genomics, demographic reconstructions, and species distribution models to assess the eco-evolutionary responses to past climate fluctuations and to future climate of an Afro-Palaearctic migratory raptor, the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). We uncover two evolutionarily and ecologically distinct lineages (European and Asian), whose demographic history, evolutionary divergence, and historical distribution range were profoundly shaped by past climatic fluctuations. Using future climate projections, we find that the Asian lineage is at higher risk of range contraction, increased migration distance, climate maladaptation, and consequently greater extinction risk than the European lineage. Our results emphasise the importance of providing historical context as a baseline for understanding species' responses to contemporary climate change, and illustrate how incorporating intraspecific genetic variation improves the ecological realism of climate change vulnerability assessments.

RevDate: 2025-04-14

Xu Y, Guan BQ, Chen R, et al (2025)

Investigating the Distribution Dynamics of the Camellia Subgenus Camellia in China and Providing Insights into Camellia Resources Management Under Future Climate Change.

Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 14(7):.

Rapid climate change has significantly impacted species distribution patterns, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of dominant tree dynamics for effective forest resource management and utilization. The Camellia subgenus Camellia, a widely distributed taxon in subtropical China, represents an ecologically and economically important group of woody plants valued for both oil production and ornamental purposes. In this study, we employed the BIOMOD2 ensemble modeling framework to investigate the spatial distribution patterns and range dynamics of the subgenus Camellia under projected climate change scenarios. Our analysis incorporated 1455 georeferenced occurrence records from 15 species, following the filtering of duplicate points, along with seven bioclimatic variables selected after highly correlated factors were eliminated. The ensemble model, which integrates six single species distribution models, demonstrated robust predictive performance, with mean true skil l statistic (TSS) and area under curve (AUC) values exceeding 0.8. Our results identified precipitation of the coldest quarter (Bio19) and temperature seasonality (Bio4) as the primary determinants influencing species distribution patterns. The center of species richness for the subgenus Camellia was located in the Nanling Mountains and eastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The projections indicate an overall expansion of suitable habitats for the subgenus under future climate conditions, with notable scenario-dependent variations: distribution hotspots are predicted to increase by 8.86% under the SSP126 scenario but experience a 2.53% reduction under the SSP585 scenario. Furthermore, a westward shift in the distribution centroid is anticipated. To ensure long-term conservation of Camellia genetic resources, we recommend establishing a germplasm conservation center in the Nanling Mountains region, which represents a critical biodiversity hotspot for this taxon.

RevDate: 2025-04-15

Qaderi MM, Evans CC, MD Spicer (2025)

Plant Nitrogen Assimilation: A Climate Change Perspective.

Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 14(7):.

Of all the essential macronutrients necessary for plant growth and development, nitrogen is required in the greatest amounts. Nitrogen is a key component of important biomolecules like proteins and has high nutritive importance for humans and other animals. Climate change factors, such as increasing levels of carbon dioxide, increasing temperatures, and increasing watering regime, directly or indirectly influence plant nitrogen uptake and assimilation dynamics. The impacts of these stressors can directly threaten our primary source of nitrogen as obtained from the soil by plants. In this review, we discuss how climate change factors can influence nitrogen uptake and assimilation in cultivated plants. We examine the effects of these factors alone and in combination with species of both C3 and C4 plants. Elevated carbon dioxide, e[CO2], causes the dilution of nitrogen in tissues of non-leguminous C3 and C4 plants but can increase nitrogen in legumes. The impact of high-temperature (HT) stress varies depending on whether a species is leguminous or not. Water stress (WS) tends to result in a decrease in nitrogen assimilation. Under some, though not all, conditions, e[CO2] can have a buffering effect against the detrimental impacts of other climate change stressors, having an ameliorating effect on the adverse impacts of HT or WS. Together, HT and WS are seen to cause significant reductions in biomass production and nitrogen uptake in non-leguminous C3 and C4 crops. With a steadily rising population and rapidly changing climate, consideration must be given to the morphological and physiological effects that climate change will have on future crop health and nutritional quality of N.

RevDate: 2025-04-14
CmpDate: 2025-04-11

Novielli P, Magarelli M, Romano D, et al (2025)

Leveraging explainable AI to predict soil respiration sensitivity and its drivers for climate change mitigation.

Scientific reports, 15(1):12527.

Global warming is one of the most pressing and critical problems facing the world today. It is mainly caused by the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). Understanding how soils respond to rising temperatures is critical for predicting carbon release and informing climate mitigation strategies. Q10, a measure of soil microbial respiration, quantifies the increase in CO2 release caused by a [Formula: see text] Celsius rise in temperature, serving as a key indicator of this sensitivity. However, predicting Q10 across diverse soil types remains a challenge, especially when considering the complex interactions between biochemical, microbiome, and environmental factors. In this study, we applied explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) to machine learning models to predict soil respiration sensitivity (Q10) and uncover the key factors driving this process. Using SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) values, we identified glucose-induced soil respiration and the proportion of bacteria positively associated with Q10 as the most influential predictors. Our machine learning models achieved an accuracy of [Formula: see text], precision of [Formula: see text], an AUC-ROC of [Formula: see text], and an AUC-PRC of [Formula: see text], ensuring robust and reliable predictions. By leveraging t-SNE (t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding) and clustering techniques, we further segmented low Q10 soils into distinct subgroups, identifying soils with a higher probability of transitioning to high Q10 states. Our findings not only highlight the potential of XAI in making model predictions transparent and interpretable, but also provide actionable insights into managing soil carbon release in response to climate change. This research bridges the gap between AI-driven environmental modeling and practical applications in agriculture, offering new directions for targeted soil management and climate resilience strategies.

RevDate: 2025-04-11

Furlow B (2025)

Climate change fuels deadly dust storms worldwide.

The Lancet. Respiratory medicine pii:S2213-2600(25)00123-7 [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2025-04-11
CmpDate: 2025-04-11

Bowen CD, Coscia KA, Aadnes MG, et al (2025)

Undergraduate Biology Students' Climate Change Communication Experiences Indicate a Need for Discipline-Based Education Research on Science Communication Education about Culturally Controversial Science Topics.

CBE life sciences education, 24(2):ar24.

Science communication is a key skill for undergraduates, but little research explores how biology students communicate about societally important, yet controversial topics like climate change. In this study, we explored whether and how biology students took on the role of science communicators about climate change. We surveyed 191 biology students at 38 universities about their climate change communication frequency and preparedness. We interviewed 25 of the survey participants about their experiences communicating about climate change and their needs when learning about climate change communication. We found that students were communicating about climate change and felt confident discussing the causes and effects of climate change, but they were less confident discussing the solutions to climate change. Students tended to "preach to the choir" by mostly communicating with those who already accepted climate change and avoiding interacting with others who disagreed with them about climate change. Students described a lack of science communication training but had a desire to be taught effective communication skills. Our interviews indicate that if these students felt more prepared to communicate, it may make them more willing to discuss climate change and particularly with people who have different views from them.

RevDate: 2025-04-13

Jones JL, Berube DM, Cuchiara M, et al (2024)

Positioning nanotechnology to address climate change.

Environment systems & decisions, 44:1039-1053.

One of society's most pressing challenges in the twenty-first century is that of climate change. In fact, climate change is seen as the most defining issue of our time as we are witness to an anthropogenic perturbation in geology and earth sciences of global scale. To move forward in this new era, solutions will be sought to both mitigate the effects of climate change (e.g., reduce greenhouse gasses) as well as adapt and build resilience (e.g., improve infrastructure and agriculture to resist damage from extreme weather or floods). The immediacy of the needed solutions dictates that the response must use the full force of society's current knowledge base, science, technology, and innovation. Nanotechnology, an enabling technology that has matured over the past few decades and now considered for general-purpose and mass use, is ideal for addressing climate change and its impacts. To position nanotechnology to address such complex challenges, this Perspective integrates collective insights from a broad range of viewpoints and presents recommendations for how research can be motivated and scoped, organized, and implemented to achieve beneficial outcomes and innovations in the most efficient ways. While this Perspective was created with a focus on the research landscape within the United States, the findings are also relevant in other international contexts. Research that can effectively advance nanotechnology solutions will be use-inspired basic research, incorporate systems-level thinking, apply a convergence research approach, engage stakeholders, and require advanced nanotechnology infrastructure. By illuminating this compelling and complex research topic, this Perspective aims to direct, inform, and accelerate needed actions in the research community to advance nanotechnology solutions for addressing climate change.

RevDate: 2025-04-12

Li M, Sun Y, Yang Y, et al (2025)

Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activity on the Habitat Distribution of Metasequoia glyptostroboides.

Ecology and evolution, 15(4):e71269.

Extensive evidence supports that global climate change influences shifts in species habitats due to alterations in hydrothermal conditions; however, neglecting dispersal capacities and limits significantly heightens uncertainties regarding spatial distribution patterns among different organisms. In this study, we compared the spatial distribution of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W.C. Cheng (M. glyptostroboides) in the current Anthropocene context to that in a climate-only context, providing new insights into the effects of climate change, dispersal potential, and dispersal barriers on the habitat changes for M. glyptostroboides. By utilizing optimized MaxEnt and MigClim models, we predicted Mid-Holocene (MH) conditions and potential colonizable habitats under three emission scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585) for both the medium and long term. We also assessed habitat distribution and variation differences in future warm-wet conditions and the Anthropocene context. The results revealed that (1) The Precipitation of driest month (BIO14), Mean diurnal range (Bio2) and human footprint (HFP) are the primary factors influencing the expansion or contraction of the habitats of M. glyptostroboides. Human footprint, farmland, roads, and construction land are the main contributors to habitat loss and fragmentation. (2) Habitats of M. glyptostroboides are expected to experience significant loss in the future. There is potential for recovery in South China under the SSP126 emission scenario, but human activities may hinder this recovery. Moderate human intervention is necessary in regions, such as Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, and Sichuan basins. (3) Due to human influence, the habitat and high-suitability areas for M. glyptostroboides are projected to migrate northeastward. Under the SSP126 scenario, a trend of reverse migration may be observed in the long term. This study minimizes the uncertainty in predicting species distribution under climate change while providing theoretical support for future habitat conservation of M. glyptostroboides.

RevDate: 2025-04-12

Muhammad I, Steinberg F, Larsen J, et al (2025)

Global warming and obesity: External heat exposure as a modulator of energy balance.

FASEB bioAdvances, 7(4):e1487.

In obesity research, the importance of core body temperature (CBT) regulation is often neglected. CBT thermogenic regulation, however, plays a crucial role in heat management through convection, radiation, and conduction processes to remove heat from the body, as well as metabolic processes that sequester heat through lipogenesis. This review emphasizes that even small changes in CBT can significantly impact metabolic events ranging from ATP production to fat deposition. Accordingly, a case is made that physical events, such as external heat exposure, also impact body compositional changes, as do work and metabolic processes. Examples are provided that suggest that independent diet and exercise, where one lives, can have an impact on body composition and obesity. For example, below 35 degrees of the earth's latitude, obesity rates are often 40 percent or greater among adults. However, in regions between 45 and 50 degrees latitude, such as the US-Canadian border, obesity rates are 25%-30%.

RevDate: 2025-04-11

Katz GM, Jain A, Kokorelias KM, et al (2025)

Prioritization of Older Adults in Canadian Climate Change Adaptation Policies: A Policy Document Analysis.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2025-04-13

Gu X, Jiang Z, Guan Y, et al (2025)

Frequent land-ocean transboundary migration of tropical heatwaves under climate change.

Nature communications, 16(1):3400.

Anthropogenic warming has exacerbated atmospheric heatwaves globally, yet the transboundary migration of heatwaves between land and ocean, along with the anthropogenic influence on this process, remain unclear. Here, we employ a Lagrangian tracking approach to identify and track spatiotemporally contiguous warm-season heatwaves in both reanalyses and simulations. This way, we show that land-ocean transboundary heatwaves, especially in the tropics, exhibit longer persistence, wider areal extent, and greater intensity than those confined to land or ocean. These transboundary migrations are primarily driven by the movement of high-pressure systems (such as the westward extension of subtropical highs) and the propagation of Rossby waves. Associated with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, the frequency of tropical heatwave migrations has increased over the past four decades, and is projected to accelerate further in the twenty-first century under the high-emissions scenario. Anthropogenically-driven landward migrations are amplified by stronger landward winds that drive heat advection, while oceanward processes are likely intensified by increased land-ocean temperature gradient. These intensified transboundary heatwaves not only accentuate humid heat risks for humans but also threaten ecosystems.

RevDate: 2025-04-10

Chandrashekhar V (2025)

A global warming 'hole' where you'd least expect it.

Science (New York, N.Y.), 388(6743):136.

India has so far warmed at about half the global average. Scientists aren't sure why.

RevDate: 2025-04-10

Skogeng LP, Blévin P, Breivik K, et al (2025)

Investigating the impact of climate change on PCB-153 exposure in Arctic seabirds with the nested exposure model.

Environmental science. Processes & impacts [Epub ahead of print].

At the same time Arctic ecosystems experiences rapid climate change, at a rate four times faster than the global average, they remain burdened by long-range transported pollution, notably with legacy polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The present study investigates the potential impact of climate change on seabird exposure to PCB-153 using the established Nested Exposure Model (NEM), here expanded with three seabird species, i.e. common eider (Somateria mollissima), black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), as well as the filter feeder blue mussel (Mytulis edulis). The model's performance was evaluated using empirical time trends of the seabird species in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, and using tissue concentrations from filter feeders along the northern Norwegian coast. NEM successfully replicated empirical PCB-153 concentrations, confirming its ability to simulate PCB-153 bioaccumulation in the studied seabird species within an order of magnitude. Based on global PCB-153 emission estimates, simulations run until the year 2100 predicted seabird blood concentrations 99% lower than in year 2000. Model scenarios with climate change-induced altered dietary composition and lipid dynamics showed to have minimal impact on future PCB-153 exposure, compared to temporal changes in primary emissions of PCB-153. The present study suggests the potential of mechanistic modelling in assessing POP exposure in Arctic seabirds within a multiple stressor context.

RevDate: 2025-04-10

O'Keeffe S, Stein S, Curran M, et al (2025)

How to square the circle? A conceptual framework synergising strategies for circular agriculture to tackle climate change and enhance overall on-farm sustainability.

Ambio [Epub ahead of print].

There is an urgent need to change the current extractive and resource-intensive agricultural practices. Adopting circular practices within the agricultural system could provide multiple benefits of slowing global climate change, reducing extractive practices and helping farmers to adapt to a changing climate. However, there are still many barriers for farmers to adopt these desired circular agriculture (CA) practices, among others, a lack of information about on-farm circular practices. There is a need to support farmers in recognising which strategies can increase the circularity of their farm and what this means in terms of their farms' climate neutrality and its long-term sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop a novel conceptual framework to facilitate a broader and integrated understanding of how on-farm CA strategies and practices contribute to the goals of climate change mitigation and on-farm sustainability, thus supporting farmers in transitioning their farms towards greater circularity.

RevDate: 2025-04-10

Bano F, Mishra H, Kantharajan G, et al (2025)

Unravelling reproductive biology of the striped gourami, Trichogaster fasciata (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) with reference to climate change and implications on breeding phenology in Ganges basin, India.

International journal of biometeorology [Epub ahead of print].

The present study explores the reproductive characteristics and breeding phenology of striped gourami, Trichogaster fasciata from river Gomti, a tributary of river Ganges, India in relation to eco-climatic variables. The calculated size at sexual maturity (Lm) is approximately 5.2 cm. The hydrological parameters such as temperature, pH and DO were found to be falling between 27-32 ºC, 6.30-6.87 and 2.22-3.81 mg/L, respectively. We found that striped gouramis can reproduce after even less precipitation (< 126 mm) throughout a broad range of temperatures. The reproductive period was initiated when the temperature exceeded 29 ºC and is considered to be favorable as it triggered the spawning which was peaked in July. The climatic data spanning 40 years (1983-2023) showed a gradual increase in average air temperature-maximum of 0.11 °C per year and an annual drop in rainfall by 2.49 mm. However, the results implies that there is a considerably low risk of climate change impact on the breeding phenology of T. fasciata in the near future. The baseline data could be used as a future point of reference for evaluating the effects of climate change on the reproductive ecology from a regional perspective. Further this knowledge is vital for protecting wild fish genetic resources through implementing sustainable management plans within the Ganga basin, which will help mitigate the possible effects of climate change.

RevDate: 2025-04-12
CmpDate: 2025-04-09

Medina RG, M Domínguez (2025)

Vulnerability of Gubernatrix cristata to climate change, anthropogenic pressures, and hybridization threats.

Scientific reports, 15(1):12152.

Estimating extinction risk is challenging due to insufficient data on current and future threats. This study develops a framework incorporating the impacts of climate change, anthropogenic pressures, and biotic interactions for assessing extinction risks using the endangered Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) as a case study. Using ecological niche modeling (ENM) with occurrences, climate, and land use data, we projected current and future distributions of G. cristata, identifying key constraints for its occurrence. Field validation through a citizen science initiative contributed new presence records, supporting our model's predictions. Currently, 4.50% of cardinal's suitable areas overlap with areas of high anthropic pressures, while 27.04% are in contact with the hybridizing species Diuca diuca. Future projections predict a 60% shift in the cardinal's distribution, exacerbating its vulnerability due to greater overlap with areas of high anthropic pressures and reduced presence in protected areas. We identified key risk areas on the distribution's periphery, vulnerable to geographic range loss and increased interaction with D. diuca due to climate change. Targeted management actions are recommended to mitigate further degradation. This study illustrates the potential of integrating citizen science, ENM, and anthropogenic and biotic pressures to develop conservation strategies, offering a versatile, universally applicable framework crucial for global biodiversity and conservation efforts.

RevDate: 2025-04-11

Liang S, Ziegler AD, Reich PB, et al (2025)

Climate mitigation potential for targeted forestation after considering climate change, fires, and albedo.

Science advances, 11(15):eadn7915.

Afforestation and reforestation, both of which refer to forestation strategies, are widely promoted as key tools to mitigate anthropogenic warming. However, the carbon sequestration potential of these efforts remains uncertain in satellite-based assessments, particularly when accounting for dynamic climate conditions, vegetation-climate feedback, fire-dominated disturbance, and the trade-offs associated with surface albedo changes. Leveraging a coupled Earth system model, we estimated that global forestation mitigates 31.3 to 69.2 Pg Ceq (carbon equivalent) during 2021-2100 under a sustainable shared socioeconomic pathway. Regionally, the highest carbon mitigation potential of forestation concentrates in tropical areas, while mid-high-latitude regions demonstrate higher heterogeneity, highlighting the need for region-specific strategies and further refinement of nature-based mitigation plans. Our findings underscore the importance of considering disturbances and minimizing adverse albedo changes when estimating the carbon mitigation potential of forestation initiatives. We also advocate for the development of consistent, high-resolution maps of suitable areas for targeted forestation, avoiding environmentally sensitive lands and potential conflicts with other human activities.

RevDate: 2025-04-09

Ferrante L, Baccaro FB, Kaefer IL, et al (2025)

Effects of climate change and El Niño anomalies on historical declines, extinctions, and disease emergence in Brazilian amphibians.

Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology [Epub ahead of print].

Amphibian declines, linked to climate change and disease, pose a global challenge, yet their primary drivers remain debated. We investigated the historical decline of Brazilian amphibians by assessing the influence of climate change, extreme weather events, and the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Our analysis encompassed 90 amphibian species over more than a century (1900-2014). We integrated historical climate data-including El Niño anomalies and Southern Hemisphere temperature records-with documented extreme weather events and amphibian population trends. We used Granger causality tests to assess the potential of various factors to forecast anuran population declines and extinctions in Brazil and structural equation models to evaluate the relationships between the variables of interest. We identified gradual climate change and extreme weather events, particularly El Niño-driven temperature anomalies, as the primary drivers of amphibian population declines in Brazil. The structural equation models supported these findings and showed that climate-driven stressors significantly contribute to population crashes and increase Bd infections. However, Bd infections peaked years after population declines, suggesting that the fungus acts as an opportunistic pathogen rather than a primary driver of amphibian losses in Brazil. These findings challenge the prevailing view that Bd is the main cause of declines, instead highlighting climate anomalies and extreme weather events as the predominant factors.

RevDate: 2025-04-11
CmpDate: 2025-04-09

Šigutová H, Pyszko P, Bílková E, et al (2025)

Highly Conserved Ecosystems Facing Climate Change: Rapid Shifts in Odonata Assemblages of Central European Bogs.

Global change biology, 31(4):e70183.

Freshwater diversity is declining at an alarming rate worldwide, and climate change is a key driver. However, attributing biological shifts solely to climate warming remains challenging because of confounding anthropogenic stressors. Peatbogs, being highly conserved, strictly protected, and minimally disturbed, offer a unique study system to isolate climate effects. We compared odonate assemblages in 27 Central European raised and transitional bogs between two sets of standardized surveys approximately 20 years apart (1998-2006 and 2020-2024). During this period, the mean annual air temperature has increased by 1.23°C. We tracked species richness, composition, taxonomic diversity, and functional traits (thermal tolerance, conservation value indicators, and selected morphological and life-history traits) and also examined phylogenetic patterns of species turnover. Although species richness remained stable, assemblage composition shifted markedly from cold-adapted, vulnerable bog specialists toward warm-adapted habitat generalists with lower conservation value. Notably, Ponto-Mediterranean species and those with a lower upper elevational limit increased their occupancy. Although the phylogenetic signal across the evolutionary tree of odonates was low, implying that the responses of the species to climate change were independent of their phylogenetic position, we revealed frequent genus-level replacements. These findings reinforce the position of odonates as a model group for detecting climate-driven changes in freshwater communities. Our study has revealed that climate warming alone can trigger profound reorganization of insect communities in inherently stable peatbog habitats. Specific traits linked to vulnerability (e.g., thermal index, red list status) and specialization proved to be promising predictors of future shifts in odonatofauna of temperate peatlands. The pronounced changes documented here may precede irreversible transformations of these unique ecosystems, highlighting the urgency of monitoring bog habitats and maintaining their stability under ongoing global change.

RevDate: 2025-04-10

Pinho M (2025)

The role of parental identity in experiencing climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behaviors.

Frontiers in psychology, 16:1579893.

INTRODUCTION: Climate change is one of society's most severe crisis, presenting a health threat to humans with serious impacts on mental health. Climate anxiety has been identified as an important mental health consequence of climate change.

METHODS: The current study examined the role of social psychological characteristics on climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behavior, using a nationally representative sample of Portuguese parents who completed extensive questionnaires.

RESULTS: More central parental identities negatively correlated with and predicted climate change anxiety, revealing that a central parental identity can be a protective factor against mental health issues. Parental identity centrality also predicted greater engagement in pro-environmental behavior. The findings further showed that environmental identity and climate change perceptions were positively related and predicted higher levels climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behavior. Finally, parental identity centrality was linked to greater pro-environmental behavior through climate change anxiety, bringing important contributions to research on the underlying mechanisms that shape pro-environmental behavior.

DISCUSSION: The findings shed light on the complex mechanisms underlying and influencing climate anxiety and pro-environmental behavior, necessary to mitigate the acute consequences of the climate crisis.

RevDate: 2025-04-10

Lippa MN, Tarolli P, E Straffelini (2025)

Climate change impacts and the reshaping of Canadian viticulture.

iScience, 28(3):111941.

Shifting climate patterns across wine-growing areas of Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Quebec are driving the development of new viticultural potential within established Canadian wine regions. Changing trends of critical climatic variables and indices, such as near-surface temperature (NST) and growing degree days, indicate that growing conditions are changing. This research assesses NST and seasonal precipitation trends from 1994 to 2100 for Canadian viticulture, focusing on the primary established growing regions. Using multi-model CMIP6 spatial-temporal averages from the NEX-GDDP-CMIP6 dataset available on Google Earth Engine, this research aims to understand future NST and seasonal precipitation trends with climate scenarios SSP245 and SSP585 and discuss possible effects on viticulture on a near-term (2015-2050) and long-term (2050-2100) basis. Minimum, average, and maximum NST trends demonstrated statistically significant increases across all regions, with similar increasing precipitation trends across the growing season. Increasing trends, especially trends of extreme temperature, can all influence grape quality and, ultimately, wine quality. Outcomes suggest warmer growing climates, which may benefit wine producers, but the increasing frequency of extreme climate-change-related events such as drought, heatwaves, or extreme rainfall suggests potential future challenges that will require careful management.

RevDate: 2025-04-09

Wang T, Sun C, Z Yang (2025)

Retraction notice to "Climate change and sustainable agricultural growth in the sahel region: Mitigating or resilient policy response?" [Heliyon 9 (2023) e19839].

Heliyon, 11(4):e42834 pii:S2405-8440(25)01215-0.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19839.].

RevDate: 2025-04-09

Pershad AR, Krishnan R, Lee E, et al (2025)

How Climate Change Is Impacting Allergic Rhinitis: A Scoping Review.

The Laryngoscope [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVE: The impact of climate change on health has become an increasingly widespread global health concern. This impact is especially relevant in the field of Otolaryngology; global warming has been shown to affect inflammatory upper airway disease, specifically allergic rhinitis (AR). This study aims to characterize the effect of climate change on the epidemiology of AR in adult and pediatric populations globally.

DATA SOURCES: In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a literature search was performed across four databases. Inclusion criteria were: (1) published in English, (2) published between 2000 and 2023, (3) reported on the current epidemiological state of AR, (4) described factors related to climate change, and (5) observed global warming affecting allergy season and AR symptoms.

REVIEW METHODS: Two reviewers screened articles and performed full-text reviews.

RESULTS: Of the 502 articles assessed, 30 studies were eligible for inclusion. Sixteen studies reported longer pollen seasons and/or higher pollen concentrations related to climate change, with two projecting total pollen emissions to increase by 16-40% and pollen season length to increase by 19 days in North America. Four studies reported an increase in AR-related healthcare usage; low-income residents were most impacted by increased usage. Two studies identified that healthcare professionals want more education on climate change.

CONCLUSION: Our scoping review highlights how climate change is altering pollen seasons and concentrations, AR disease prevalence, allergy sensitization, and AR symptom severity. Health professionals have expressed an understanding of climate change's impact on health and a desire for further education.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Elmer A, Grah C, Kirstein S, et al (2025)

[Respiratory medicine in climate change].

Pneumologie (Stuttgart, Germany) [Epub ahead of print].

DGP pneumologists advocate measures for adaptation, prevention and the implementation of sustainable health care. To protect patients and mitigate the health threat posed by climate change, resilient systems should be built. To protect lung health, they call for action to counteract rising temperatures and the development of extreme weather events, and for further reductions in air pollution. They point out particularly vulnerable population groups that need to be protected.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Choi H, CH Lee (2025)

The impact of climate change on ecology of tick associated with tick-borne diseases.

PLoS computational biology, 21(4):e1012903 pii:PCOMPBIOL-D-24-01928 [Epub ahead of print].

Infectious diseases have caused significant economic and human losses worldwide. Growing concerns exist regarding climate change potentially exacerbating the spread of these diseases, particularly those transmitted by vectors such as ticks and mosquitoes. Tick-borne diseases, such as Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (SFTS), can be particularly detrimental to elderly and immunocompromised individuals. This study utilizes a mathematical modeling approach to predict changes in tick populations under climate change scenarios, incorporating tick ecology and climate-sensitive parameters. Sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the factors influencing tick population dynamics. The study further explores effective tick control strategies and their cost-effectiveness in the context of climate change. The findings indicate that the efficacy of tick population reduction varies greatly depending on the timing of control measure implementation and the effectiveness of the control strategies exhibits a strong dependence on the duration of implementation. Furthermore, as climate change intensifies, tick populations are projected to increase, leading to a rise in control costs and SFTS cases. In light of these findings, identifying and implementing appropriate control measures to manage tick populations under climate change will be increasingly crucial.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Immorlano F, Eyring V, le Monnier de Gouville T, et al (2025)

Transferring climate change physical knowledge.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(15):e2413503122.

Precise and reliable climate projections are required for climate adaptation and mitigation, but Earth system models still exhibit great uncertainties. Several approaches have been developed to reduce the spread of climate projections and feedbacks, yet those methods cannot capture the nonlinear complexity inherent in the climate system. Using a Transfer Learning approach, we show that Machine Learning can be used to optimally leverage and merge the knowledge gained from global temperature maps simulated by Earth system models and observed in the historical period to reduce the spread of global surface air temperature fields projected in the 21st century. We reach an uncertainty reduction of more than 50% with respect to state-of-the-art approaches while giving evidence that our method provides improved regional temperature patterns together with narrower projections uncertainty, urgently required for climate adaptation.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Cuartas J, F Vergunst (2025)

Nurturing care as a critical buffer against climate change impacts on child development.

PLOS global public health, 5(4):e0004441.

We examine empirical and conceptual considerations related to the role of nurturing care for protecting human capital formation in the context of climate change. Climate change is a pressing global challenge. Heatwaves, wildfires, storms, and floods are becoming more frequent and severe, and their direct impact and aftermath can have long-lasting negative effects on employment, education, healthcare, and access to essential services. Children are particularly vulnerable to these harms due to their developmental immaturity and limited capacity to mitigate and avoid risks [1,2]. Consequently, parents and other adult primary caregivers - such as grandparents, relatives, and foster parents (hereafter "caregivers") - provide the primary buffer between climate hazards and adverse developmental outcomes. They do this through nurturing care, defined as the provision of stable environments that promote children's health and nutrition, safety and security, opportunities for learning, and emotionally supportive relationships [3]. Despite the central role of nurturing care for children's life outcomes, it rarely appears in climate change research and policy discourse.

RevDate: 2025-04-11
CmpDate: 2025-04-08

Segerberg A, M Magnani (2025)

Visual digital intermediaries and global climate communication: Is climate change still a distant problem on YouTube?.

PloS one, 20(4):e0318338.

This article addresses the role of digital intermediaries in visual climate communication, and specifically their contribution to the persistence of a 'green ghetto' of traditional communicators and repertoires online. We argue for a comparative sensibility: global platforms convey global issues to global audiences, yet the same platform may distribute conditions of visibility for compelling communication unevenly around the world. The study analyses how a major global visual platform, YouTube (Search), articulates climate change in 232 countries in their official languages. It combines API research, channel coding and computational image analysis to assess the processing and presentation of top-ranked results with respect to their diversity and proximity to local context. The findings show that YouTube Search establishes visibility winners who typically sustain the classic visual repertoire of climate change as a distant problem, and that Global North sources dominate irrespective of region. However, there are notable exceptions to these patterns.

RevDate: 2025-04-09
CmpDate: 2025-04-09

Muthukrishnan R, Smiley TM, Title PO, et al (2025)

Chasing the Niche: Escaping Climate Change Threats in Place, Time, and Space.

Global change biology, 31(4):e70167.

Climate change is creating mismatches between species' current environments and their historical niches. Locations that once had the abiotic and biotic conditions to support the persistence of a species may now be too warm, too dry, or simply too different, to meet their niche requirements. Changes in behaviors, altered phenology, and range shifts are common responses to climate change. Though these responses are often studied in isolation by scientists from disparate subfields of ecology, they all represent variants of the same solution-strategies to realign the conditions populations experience with their niche. Here, we aim to (1) identify the physiological and ecological effects, and potential alignment, of these three ecological responses: shifts in behavior, phenology, or ranges, (2) determine the circumstances under which each type of response may be more or less effective at mitigating the effects of climate change, and (3) consider how these strategies might interact with each other. Each response has been previously reviewed, but efforts to consider relationships between ecological (or with evolutionary) responses have been limited. A synthetic perspective that considers the similarities among ecological responses and how they interact with each other and with evolutionary responses offers a more robust view on species' resilience to climate change.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Lyberger K, Robinson AR, Couper L, et al (2025)

A systematic review of climate-change driven range shifts in mosquito vectors.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology pii:2025.03.25.645279.

As global temperatures rise, concerns about shifting mosquito ranges-and accompanying changes in the transmission of malaria, dengue, and other diseases-are mounting. However, systematic evidence for climate-driven changes in mosquito ranges remains limited. We conducted a systematic review of studies documenting expansions or contractions in medically important mosquito species. In total, 178 studies on six continents identified range expansions in 118 mosquito species. While over a third of these studies cited warming as a driver, fewer than 10% performed statistical tests of the role of climate. Instead, most expansions were linked to human-aided dispersal (e.g., trade, travel), land-use changes, and urbanization. Although several studies reported poleward or upward expansions consistent with climate warming, none demonstrated warm-edge contractions driven by rising temperatures, which are theoretically predicted in some settings. Rather than expanding into newly suitable areas, many expansions appear to be filling preexisting thermally suitable habitats. Our findings highlight the need for long-term mosquito monitoring, rigorous climate-attribution methods, and better documentation of confounding factors like land-use change and vector control efforts to disentangle climate-driven changes from other anthropogenic factors.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Ji JS (2025)

Health is the landing zone for climate change adaptation.

RevDate: 2025-04-10
CmpDate: 2025-04-08

Collery A, CL Niedzwiedz (2025)

Climate change worry and the association with future depression and anxiety: cross-national analysis of 11 European countries.

BMJ mental health, 28(1):.

BACKGROUND: Climate change affects people's mental health directly and indirectly. Climate anxiety, characterised by persistent worry and distress about environmental changes, is increasingly recognised as a factor affecting mental well-being. This study focused on potential implications of climate change worry for mental health.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether climate change worry is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance across European countries.

METHODS: The study used longitudinal data from the European Social Survey-10 (2020-2022) and the follow-up CROss-National Online Survey 2 wave 4 (2022). A total of 5155 participants across 11 European countries were included in the analysis. Logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between climate change worry and mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression and sleep), adjusting for potential confounding factors. Stratified analyses were conducted to assess variations between countries.

FINDINGS: Climate change worry was associated with increased risk of anxiety (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.68), but not depression (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 0.94 to 1.29), or sleep disturbance (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.27), in pooled analyses across countries. Country-specific analyses revealed notable differences, with the strongest associations between climate worry and anxiety observed in Slovenia and Italy.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the psychological impact of climate change worry is not uniform across Europe and may be influenced by national policies, environmental risks and sociocultural factors. Given the varying effects across countries, policy-makers should consider contextual factors when designing strategies to address climate anxiety. Integrating mental health considerations into climate policies may enhance public engagement and resilience in the face of environmental challenges.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Traditional therapeutic approaches may not fully capture the unique distress associated with environmental worries, necessitating the development of specialised interventions that validate individuals' concerns while equipping them with coping mechanisms.

RevDate: 2025-04-07

Salvadori M, Singh D, Mathews K, et al (2025)

The low global warming potential propellant HFA-152a does not induce bronchoconstriction or impair mucociliary clearance.

Pulmonary pharmacology & therapeutics pii:S1094-5539(25)00015-X [Epub ahead of print].

INTRODUCTION: Use of propellants with high global warming potential (e.g., HFA-134a) for pressurised metered-dose inhalers is being phased down. An alternative is reformulation using propellants with low global warming potential (e.g., HFA-152a), which requires evaluation of the propellant's safety, in particular whether it induces bronchoconstriction or impairs mucociliary clearance (MCC). In this manuscript, we describe two studies, the first comparing the bronchoconstriction potential of HFA-152a vs HFA-134a, the second comparing their effect on MCC.

METHODS: The bronchoconstriction study was single-dose, randomised, double-blind, controlled, crossover, in adults with asthma. The primary endpoint was relative change from baseline in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) at 15 min post-dose. The MCC study was multiple-dose (8 days), randomised, open-label, controlled, crossover, in healthy volunteers. The primary endpoint was percent particle retention in the right whole lung at 2 and 4 h after inhalation of radiolabelled particles (PPR2 and PPR4).

RESULTS: For the bronchoconstriction study (N=25), the 95% CI of the adjusted mean FEV1 difference between HFA-152a vs HFA-134a at 15 min post-dose was within the -10% to +10% equivalence limit (1.86% [95% CI -0.48%, 4.20%]; p=0.113). Treatment-emergent adverse events were reported by 4.0% (HFA-152a) and 12.0% (HFA-134a) patients, all mild or moderate in intensity, and none serious. For the MCC study (N=20), the 95% CIs for the adjusted mean differences between HFA-152a vs HFA-134a at Day 8 contained 0 for both PPR2 (1.36 [-2.28, 4.99]%; p=0.442) and PPR4 (0.70 [-1.73, 3.12]%; p=0.553). A similar proportion of subjects had treatment-emergent adverse events (25.0% vs 35.0%), all mild in intensity, and none serious.

CONCLUSIONS: These two studies suggest a switch in propellant from HFA-134a to HFA-152a is unlikely to induce post-dose bronchoconstriction in asthma or impact lung MCC, and is not accompanied by any safety concerns.

RevDate: 2025-04-07

Chakraborty R, Rehman RU, Siddiqui MW, et al (2025)

Phytohormones: Heart of plants' signaling network under biotic, abiotic, and climate change stresses.

Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB, 223:109839 pii:S0981-9428(25)00367-5 [Epub ahead of print].

Industrialization has made the world increasingly unstable, subjecting plants to various constraints. As a consequence, plants are constantly experiencing biological, environmental, and climatic constraints, necessitating defense mechanisms to ensure their survival. Plants are vulnerable to various biotic factors, including insects, pathogens (bacterial, fungal, viral, and nematodes), weeds, and herbivores. They also face different abiotic and climate change challenges such as drought (regulated by genes like GH3, DREB, ZIFL1;3, etc), salinity, heavy metals, metalloids, ultraviolet radiations (UV), ozone (O3), low and high temperature (chilling/cold/freezing/heat), carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and flooding/hypoxia/anoxia. Different transcriptional factors, such as KNOX1, PYK10, and NRP1, regulate these abiotic and climate change stresses. Different phytohormones such as auxin (regulated by components AUX/IAA3, PIN, indole-glucosinolate, indole-3-acetaldoxine), gibberellin (key elements involved in the synthesis and signaling such as DELLA, GA3ox, RhHB1), cytokinin (signaling through ARR5), ethylene (involved transcription factors like AP2/ERF), abscisic acid (signaling regulated through SnRK2), salicylic acid, jasmonic acid (regulated by JAZ1/TIFYIOA), brassinosteroids, nitric oxide, and strigolactones (synthetic precursor being GR24) control plants' maturation in normal and stressed conditions by regulating various metabolic and physiological plant activities. Phytohormonal interactions and their synergy are often assessed by different techniques and assays such as CRISPR/Cas9, ELISA, RIA, luciferase, GAL4, and mEmerald GFP. Their synthesis and signaling are regulated by various genes (such as YUCCA1, YUCCA5, GA3ox, etc), transporters (PIN, such as PIN, ABCB, NPF, etc), and receptors (such as PLY4, PLY5, BZR1/BES1, MYC2, etc) and have different precursors such as L-arginine, L-tryptophan, phenylalanine, linolenic acid, S-adenosylmethionine, geranylgeranyl diphosphate. This review comprehensively analyses the breakthrough in phytohormones and their signaling in regulating plants' growth and maturation. Their significance in combating the biotic, abiotic, and climate change stresses, improving stress adaptation to identify novel strategies enhancing plant resilience, sustainable agriculture, and ensuring food security.

RevDate: 2025-04-07
CmpDate: 2025-04-07

Delnat CC (2025)

A Systematic Review of Climate Change Content Integration in Nursing Curricula.

The Journal of nursing education, 64(4):227-234.

BACKGROUND: Health systems must be strengthened to mitigate and adapt to climate change-related health challenges, and nursing program accreditors are beginning to require climate health competencies (American Association of Colleges of Nursing). Since these recommendations are recent, more information is needed for faculty to build competence in content related to climate and health in nursing program curricula.

METHOD: A literature review was conducted to explore how climate-change environmental and population health implications are being incorporated into nursing education. Literature was reviewed using the Global Consortium on Climate Change and Health Education competency outcomes as a guide to evaluation.

RESULTS: Educators used three types of strategies: (1) integration of content throughout the existing curriculum; (2) embedding a stand-alone course; and (3) educational activities directed toward climate health education.

CONCLUSION: The strategy that provided education on the greatest number of competencies was the integration of content throughout the existing nursing curriculum. [J Nurs Educ. 2025;64(4):227-234.].

RevDate: 2025-04-09

Loria RN, Pugel J, Goldberg MH, et al (2025)

Email outreach attracts the US policymakers' attention to climate change but common advocacy techniques do not improve engagement.

Communications earth & environment, 6(1):76.

One of the most challenging aspects of climate change mitigation today is not identifying solutions but reaching political leaders with climate scientists' existing solutions. Although there is substantial research on climate change communication, research rarely focuses on one of the most impactful groups: policymakers. It is essential to test theoretically sound methods to increase lawmakers' attention to research evidence. In a series of four rapid-cycle randomized controlled email trials (N = 6642-7620 per trial), we test three common and theoretically derived advocacy tactics to increase U.S. policymaker engagement with a climate change fact sheet sent via email (i.e., a norms manipulation, a number focused manipulation, and emotional language manipulation). In all four trials, the control message increased engagement more than messages using advocacy tactics, measured by fact sheet clicks. This demonstrates the importance of testing communication methods within the appropriate populations, especially a population with considerable influence over climate policy.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Iizumi T, Sakai T, Masaki Y, et al (2025)

Assessing the capacity of agricultural research and development to increase the stability of global crop yields under climate change.

PNAS nexus, 4(4):pgaf099.

Agricultural research and development (R&D) has increased crop yields, but little is known about its ability to increase yield stability in the context of increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Using a grid yield dataset, we show that from 2000 to 2019, the SD of yield anomalies for maize, rice, wheat, and soybean increased in 20% of the global harvested area. Based on random forest models relating yield anomaly to climate, soil, management, and public R&D expenditure, we show that cumulative agricultural R&D expenditure, proportion of growing season exposed to optimal hourly temperatures, and dry and very wet days are key factors explaining crop yield variability. An attribution analysis based on large ensemble climate simulations with and without human influence on the global climate shows that unfavorable agroclimatic conditions due to climate change has increased SD, while higher R&D expenditure has led to more contrasting trends in SD over 2000-2019. Although R&D has continued steadily in most countries, this study indicates that the progress made in R&D since 2000 may have lagged behind the unfavorable effect of climate change on yield variability.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Van Tran D, Suzuki T, Fukuyama I, et al (2025)

Population Genetics Provides Insights Into the Impact of Future Climate Change on the Genetic Structure and Distribution of Asian Warty Newts (Genus Paramesotriton).

Ecology and evolution, 15(4):e71054.

Assessing population vulnerability to climate change is essential for informing management and conservation strategies, particularly for amphibians. We integrated population genetics and ecological niche modeling (ENM) to assess the effect of climate change on the distribution and genetic structure of two species of Asian warty newts (Paramesotriton deloustali and P. guangxiensis) in northern Vietnam. We analyzed population genetics using a genome-wide SNP dataset generated with the MIG-seq method. Additionally, we applied ensemble ecological niche modeling (ENM) to predict the potential distribution of warty newts under two climate change scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) for the periods 2050 and 2090. Population genetics revealed three primary groups: West, East + Cao Bang (CB), and Quang Ninh (QN). CB exhibited discordance between mitochondrial DNA and single-nucleotide nuclear DNA polymorphism data. Furthermore, gene flow within populations was restricted, particularly within West and QN. Spatial distribution analyses of genetic clusters conditioned by environmental variables predicted that the East + CB genetic cluster would expand, whereas those of West and QN would decrease. The introgression of genetic structures probably reduces the vulnerability of East + CB to climate change. ENM analysis revealed that these newts are susceptible to climate change, resulting in a reduction in their suitable habitat areas across all scenarios. We also observed a shift in the suitable distribution toward higher elevations. Our results suggest that the mountainous areas of northern Vietnam could serve as potential refugia for these newts as the effects of climate change intensify.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Zhang Y, Dai Y, Li J, et al (2025)

Climate Change and Human Pressure: Assessing the Vulnerability of Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) Habitat Integrated With Prey Distribution on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Ecology and evolution, 15(4):e71232.

Climate change is significantly altering the distribution of large carnivores and their primary prey species, with particular emphasis on the changing prey distribution in high-altitude regions. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known for its rich biodiversity, is highly sensitive to climate change, affecting the habitats of snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur). Our study identified blue sheep as the primary prey of snow leopards through metagenomic analysis and used bioclimatic data and Land Use/Cover Change (LUCC) information to model habitat suitability under three climate scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5). Projections showed that under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, snow leopard habitats will decrease by 13.0% and 23.4%, while blue sheep habitats will decrease by 38.3% and 49.7%, respectively. These habitats are expected to shift to higher altitudes, with snow leopards experiencing a more significant shift. Based on these findings, we recommend adjusting protected area boundaries for S1 (Ideal distribution range), establishing ecological corridors for S2 (stepping stone), and implementing targeted measures to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts in S3 (potential conflict area). To protect these species, international efforts to reduce carbon emissions, cross-administrative cooperation, and community-based conservation strategies are essential.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Cai M, Hu X, Sun J, et al (2025)

Principle-based adept predictions of global warming from climate mean states.

National science review, 12(2):nwae442.

Distinguishing anthropogenic warming from natural variability and reducing uncertainty in global-warming projections continue to present challenges. Here, we introduce a novel principle-based framework for predicting global warming from climate mean states that is based solely on carbon-dioxide-increasing scenarios without running climate models and relying on statistical trend analysis. By applying this framework to the climate mean state of 1980-2000, we accurately capture the subsequent global warming (0.403 K predicted versus 0.414 K observed) and polar warming amplification patterns. Our predictions from climate mean states of individual models not only exhibit a high map-correlation skill that is comparable to that of individual Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 models for the observed warming, but also capture the temporal pace of their warming under the 1% annual CO2-increasing scenario. This work provides the first principle-based confirmation that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are the primary cause of the observed global warming from 1980-2000 to 2000-2020, independently of climate models and statistical analysis.

RevDate: 2025-04-08

Zhang Y, AL Collins (2025)

Global warming potential of farming systems across England: possible mitigation and co-benefits for water quality and biodiversity.

Agronomy for sustainable development, 45(2):22.

UNLABELLED: Agriculture is a key contributor to gaseous emissions causing climate change, the degradation of water quality, and biodiversity loss. The extant climate change crisis is driving a focus on mitigating agricultural gaseous emissions, but wider policy objectives, beyond net zero, mean that evidence on the potential co-benefits or trade-offs associated with on-farm intervention is warranted. For novelty, aggregated data on farm structure and spatial distribution for different farm types were integrated with high-resolution data on the natural environment to generate representative model farms. Accounting for existing mitigation effects, the Catchment Systems Model was then used to quantify global warming potential, emissions to water, and other outcomes for water management catchments across England under both business-as-usual and a maximum technically feasible mitigation potential scenario. Mapped spatial patterns were overlain with the distributions of areas experiencing poor water quality and biodiversity loss to examine potential co-benefits. The median business-as-usual GWP20 and GWP100, excluding embedded emissions, were estimated to be 4606 kg CO2 eq. ha[-1] (inter-quartile range 4240 kg CO2 eq. ha-[1]) and 2334 kg CO2 eq. ha[-1] (inter-quartile range 1462 kg CO2 eq. ha[-1]), respectively. The ratios of business-as-usual GHG emissions to monetized farm production ranged between 0.58 and 8.89 kg CO2 eq. £[-1] for GWP20, compared with 0.53-3.99 kg CO2 eq. £[-1] for GWP100. The maximum mitigation potentials ranged between 17 and 30% for GWP20 and 19-27% for GWP100 with both corresponding medians estimated to be ~24%. Here, we show for the first time that the co-benefits for water quality associated with reductions in phosphorus and sediment loss were both equivalent to around a 34% reduction, relative to business-as-usual, in specific management catchment reporting units where excess water pollutant loads were identified. Several mitigation measures included in the mitigation scenario were also identified as having the potential to deliver co-benefits for terrestrial biodiversity.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13593-025-01015-4.

RevDate: 2025-04-07
CmpDate: 2025-04-07

Singh GJP (2025)

Regulatory and Scientific Complexities in Application of the Proposed Prior Approval Supplement Pathway for Substitution of the Low Global Warming Potential Propellants in the Marketed Metered Dose Inhalers.

Molecular pharmaceutics, 22(4):1735-1739.

Due to the Greenhouse effect of the hydrofluoroalkane gases, transition of the currently marketed pressurized Metered Dose Inhalers containing these propellants to their new versions with Low Global Warming Potential propellants has been initiated. Both the regulatory authorities and MDI manufacturers are actively engaged in making this transition efficiently and cost-effectively. Traditionally, regulatory approval of propellant changes in MDIs has entailed lengthy and very expensive product development in new drug applications. Recently, however, a Prior Approval Supplement pathway that is commonly used to support scaleup and post approval changes in drug products has been proposed for regulatory submissions to support replacement of the approved hydrofluoroalkane with the MDIs using low global warming potential propellants. However, it is recognized that propellant substitutions in MDIs are not simple excipient changes, as they may influence a variety of critical quality attributes relevant to the safety and efficacy of the inhalers. Therefore, even though the proposal for consideration of propellant substitutions as post approval changes is novel and its regulatory acceptance by the FDA would be revolutionary, its application is complicated in view of the applicable regulatory and scientific considerations. This paper provides an analysis of the regulatory and scientific complexities relevant to the proposed pathway.

RevDate: 2025-04-06

Sun S, Lundgren EJ, Zhang Y, et al (2025)

Animal burrows as critical thermal refuges in the age of climate change.

RevDate: 2025-04-06

Fitzpatrick CM, Muratore CS, Glick RD, et al (2025)

Why Pediatric Surgeons Need to Care About Climate Change.

RevDate: 2025-04-06

Wolfson JA, Altema-Johnson D, Yett A, et al (2025)

Climate change menu labels in a university cafeteria: effects on student's diets, perceptions, and attitudes.

Appetite pii:S0195-6663(25)00154-0 [Epub ahead of print].

Climate change is an urgent public health threat that requires robust and multi-sector action, including strategies to shift food choices toward more sustainable options. Climate change menu labels in university settings have the potential to shift food choices over the short- and long-term. In this pre- post-intervention study, we implemented traffic-light style climate impact menu labels communicating the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) of foods in two university dining halls at a private university in Maryland, USA. We compared student dietary intake, perceptions, and university dining procurement pre- and post-intervention. Compared to a baseline period with a matching 4-week menu cycle, we found no significant changes students' overall dietary quality, and few differences in students' frequency of consuming key food groups. One in three students (33%) in the sample (n=186) noticed the climate change labels on the menus, and nearly half of surveyed students (48%) said they would like the labels to continue to be displayed in dining halls. The majority of students reported that the labels did not influence their food choices at the dining hall (56%) or elsewhere (67%). More than 60% of students believed a healthy diet includes meat, and ∼40% believed that meatless meals are not filling. Climate labels are an important strategy for universities to consider to increase student awareness of climate impacts of their food choices, but other strategies, such as shifts in the types of meals offered on the menu, may also be needed to reduce GHGE of university dining programs.

RevDate: 2025-04-06

Li L, Tang Y, Dong H, et al (2025)

Planning conservation priority areas for marine mammals accounting for human impact, climate change and multidimensionality of biodiversity.

Journal of environmental management, 381:125193 pii:S0301-4797(25)01169-7 [Epub ahead of print].

Because of the crucial ecological status of marine mammals, identifying priority areas for these species could significantly contribute to achieving the 30 % ocean protection target set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. However, comprehensive conservation priorities requires considering multiple biodiversity dimensions and the impacts of climate change and human activities, which are poorly considered. In this study, we first investigated the distribution patterns of species, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of marine mammals and analyzed their relationship with cumulative anthropogenic impacts and climate change. We then developed conservation plans in which conservation targets of each species were allocated according to their distinctiveness indices, and protection costs were set as cumulative anthropogenic impacts and future climate velocity. The results indicate that incorporating extinction probability into the calculation of distinctiveness indices affects species uniqueness rankings, highlighting the need to consider species threat levels in future conservation efforts. Negative correlations were found for marine mammal diversity with cumulative anthropogenic impacts and climate change, implying that these factors may have already influenced the biodiversity distribution. The results suggest that existing MPAs are exposed to high levels of cumulative human impacts and climate velocity, necessitating further assessment of their effectiveness. In contrast, the low-regret MPAs identified in this study face significantly lower cumulative human impacts and future climate velocity, presenting valuable opportunities for marine mammal conservation.

RevDate: 2025-04-06

Yan J, Shirai K, Nishida K, et al (2025)

Growth disturbances in bivalve shell: Implications for past and future intra-annual scale climate change.

The Science of the total environment, 976:179297 pii:S0048-9697(25)00933-7 [Epub ahead of print].

Growth disturbances in bivalve shells are widely observed in both fossil and modern species, yet the conditions and mechanisms driving their formation remain unclear. Through controlled experiments on Mimachlamys nobilis, we demonstrate that abrupt intra-annual temperature fluctuations (≥5 °C) induce shell growth disturbances by altering the energy budget, diverting resources from shell growth to stress responses. Under ≥5 °C fluctuations (Groups C and D), 67 % of the individuals exhibited shell thinning, reduced growth rates, and formed growth disturbance lines (Groups C and D), whereas <5 °C fluctuations (Groups A and B) caused disturbances in only 12 % of the cases. These bivalve growth disturbances serve as a sensitive bio-indicator of short-term temperature fluctuations, providing a novel tool for reconstructing intra-annual level marine climatic fluctuations in deep time.

RevDate: 2025-04-06

Secrafi M, Msadek J, Chouikhi F, et al (2025)

Hydrothermal time modeling of germination dynamics under abiotic stress and habitat suitability of Stipagrostis species using the MaxEnt model in response to climate change scenarios.

The Science of the total environment, 976:179347 pii:S0048-9697(25)00983-0 [Epub ahead of print].

Currently, overgrazing, land clearing, soil erosion, and the effects of climate change are the main factors of grassland ecosystems degradation. Thus, developing activities for restoring and rehabilitating degraded pastoral habitats is crucial. The most effective and sustainable strategy for carrying out these activities is to use species that are acclimated to dry and desert environments. In this regard, our work examined the effects of temperature (15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 °C), PEG6000-induced water stress (0, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.5, -0.6, -0.8, and - 1.0 MPa), and their interaction on the germination of Stipagrostis ciliata, Stipagrostis pungens, and Stipagrostis plumosa. Also, the effect of environmental factors including temperature and precipitation-related variables on the species distribution under current and future climate scenarios were investigated by using the MaxEnt model. Results revealed that germination responses were successfully predicted using the hydrotime and hydrothermal time models (R[2] ≥ 0.83). Decreasing water potential (ψ) significantly reduced maximum germination percentage and delayed median germination rate (GR50) in all species, with S. ciliata showing the highest stress tolerance (ψb(50) = -0.6 MPa and GR50 = 0.048 h[-1] at 25 °C). Optimal germination occurred at temperatures between 25 and 26 °C, with recovery germination percentage peaking under severe stress conditions (-0.8 to -1.0 MPa). Species-specific variations in ψb(50) values and cardinal temperatures highlighted the physiological mechanisms underlying germination responses to environmental stresses. Habitat modeling using MaxEnt revealed distinct environmental factors influencing species distribution under current and future climate scenarios. Projections under SSP245 and SSP585 scenarios indicated shifts in suitable habitats, with S. ciliata and S. plumosa showing enhanced high and very high suitable areas, respectively, despite reductions in moderate habitats. However, S. pungens will experience the greatest reduction in very high suitable habitat distribution compared to S. ciliata and S. plumosa. This suggests that S. ciliata may become more widespread and well-distributed, potentially making it more effective for environmental restoration efforts.

RevDate: 2025-04-06
CmpDate: 2025-04-06

Beggs PJ, Woodward AJ, Trueck S, et al (2025)

The 2024 report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: Australia emerging as a hotspot for litigation.

The Medical journal of Australia, 222(6):272-296.

The MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change in Australia was established in 2017 and produced its first national assessment in 2018 and annual updates in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. It examines five broad domains: health hazards, exposures and impacts; adaptation, planning and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. In this, the seventh report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown, we track progress on an extensive suite of indicators across these five domains, accessing and presenting the latest data and further refining and developing our analyses. We also examine selected indicators of trends in health and climate change in New Zealand. Our analyses show the exposure to heatwaves is growing in Australia, increasing the risk of heat stress and other health threats such as bushfires and drought. Our analyses also highlight continuing deficiencies in Australia's response to the health and climate change threat. A key component of Australia's capacity to respond to bushfires, its number of firefighting volunteers, is in decline, dropping by 38 442 people (17%) in just seven years. Australia's total energy supply remains dominated by fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), and although energy from coal decreased from 2021 to 2023, energy from oil increased, and transport energy from petrol grew substantially in 2021-22 (the most recent year for which data are available). Greenhouse gas emissions from Australia's health care sector in 2021 rose to their highest level since 2010. In other areas some progress is being made. The Australian Government completed the first pass of the National Climate Risk Assessment, which included health and social support as one of the eleven priority risks, based in part on the assessed severity of impact. Renewable sources such as wind and solar now provide almost 40% of Australia's electricity, with growth in both large-scale and small-scale (eg, household) renewable generation and battery storage systems. The sale of electric vehicles reached an all-time high in 2023 of 98 436, accounting for 8.47% of all new vehicle sales. Although Australia had a reprieve from major catastrophic climate events in 2023, New Zealand experienced cyclone Gabrielle and unprecedented floods, which contributed to the highest displacement of people and insured economic losses over the period of our analyses (ie, since the year 2010 and 2000 respectively). Nationally, regionally and globally, the next five years are pivotal in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning energy production to renewables. Australia is now making progress in this direction. This progress must continue and accelerate, and the remaining deficiencies in Australia's response to the health and climate change threat must be addressed. There are strong signs that Australians are increasingly engaged and acting on health and climate change, and our new indicator on health and climate change litigation in Australia demonstrates the legal system is active on this issue in this country. Our 2022 and 2023 reports signalled our intentions to introduce indicators on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and climate change, and mental health and climate change in Australia. Although the development of appropriate indicators is challenging, these are key areas and we expect our reporting on them will commence in our next report.

RevDate: 2025-04-06

Barbour V (2025)

Accountability frameworks for climate change and health: research is leading the way.

The Medical journal of Australia, 222(6):271.

RevDate: 2025-04-05
CmpDate: 2025-04-05

Li A, Zhou H, Luo X, et al (2025)

The influence of climate change on Primula Sect. Crystallophlomis in southwest China.

BMC plant biology, 25(1):438.

PURPOSE: Climate change significantly affects the distribution of high-altitude plant species, particularly within the Primula Sect. Crystallophlomis found in Southwest China. This clade is valued for its ornamental and medicinal properties. This study aims to evaluate the impact of climate change on the potential distribution of P. crystallophlomis to inform conservation and ecological research.

METHODS: An optimized Maximum Entropy model (MaxEnt) was utilized to predict the suitable habitat areas of P. crystallophlomis under 9 scenarios, using 161 distribution records and 22 environmental variables. The model parameters were set to RM = 1.5 and FC = LQH, achieving a high prediction accuracy with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.820.

RESULTS: The analysis identified key environmental factors influencing the suitable habitat of P. crystallophlomis, including annual precipitation (bio-12), temperature seasonality (bio-4), mean diurnal range (bio-2), and precipitation seasonality (bio-15). Under current climate conditions, the suitable habitats are primarily located in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Hengduan Mountains, and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, exhibiting significant fragmentation. Notable declines in potential habitat area were observed from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Mid-Holocene (MH), with future projections indicating further reductions, particularly under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways 585 (SSP-585) scenario.

CONCLUSION: The suitable habitat of P. crystallophlomis, which tends to grow in consistently cold and moist environments, is expected to shrink, with a projected southward shift in its centroid. Global warming is anticipated to profoundly impact the suitable habitats of P. crystallophlomis, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts.

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RJR Experience and Expertise

Researcher

Robbins holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees in the life sciences. He served as a tenured faculty member in the Zoology and Biological Science departments at Michigan State University. He is currently exploring the intersection between genomics, microbial ecology, and biodiversity — an area that promises to transform our understanding of the biosphere.

Educator

Robbins has extensive experience in college-level education: At MSU he taught introductory biology, genetics, and population genetics. At JHU, he was an instructor for a special course on biological database design. At FHCRC, he team-taught a graduate-level course on the history of genetics. At Bellevue College he taught medical informatics.

Administrator

Robbins has been involved in science administration at both the federal and the institutional levels. At NSF he was a program officer for database activities in the life sciences, at DOE he was a program officer for information infrastructure in the human genome project. At the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, he served as a vice president for fifteen years.

Technologist

Robbins has been involved with information technology since writing his first Fortran program as a college student. At NSF he was the first program officer for database activities in the life sciences. At JHU he held an appointment in the CS department and served as director of the informatics core for the Genome Data Base. At the FHCRC he was VP for Information Technology.

Publisher

While still at Michigan State, Robbins started his first publishing venture, founding a small company that addressed the short-run publishing needs of instructors in very large undergraduate classes. For more than 20 years, Robbins has been operating The Electronic Scholarly Publishing Project, a web site dedicated to the digital publishing of critical works in science, especially classical genetics.

Speaker

Robbins is well-known for his speaking abilities and is often called upon to provide keynote or plenary addresses at international meetings. For example, in July, 2012, he gave a well-received keynote address at the Global Biodiversity Informatics Congress, sponsored by GBIF and held in Copenhagen. The slides from that talk can be seen HERE.

Facilitator

Robbins is a skilled meeting facilitator. He prefers a participatory approach, with part of the meeting involving dynamic breakout groups, created by the participants in real time: (1) individuals propose breakout groups; (2) everyone signs up for one (or more) groups; (3) the groups with the most interested parties then meet, with reports from each group presented and discussed in a subsequent plenary session.

Designer

Robbins has been engaged with photography and design since the 1960s, when he worked for a professional photography laboratory. He now prefers digital photography and tools for their precision and reproducibility. He designed his first web site more than 20 years ago and he personally designed and implemented this web site. He engages in graphic design as a hobby.

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Collection of publications by R J Robbins

Reprints and preprints of publications, slide presentations, instructional materials, and data compilations written or prepared by Robert Robbins. Most papers deal with computational biology, genome informatics, using information technology to support biomedical research, and related matters.

Research Gate page for R J Robbins

ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a study by Nature and an article in Times Higher Education , it is the largest academic social network in terms of active users.

Curriculum Vitae for R J Robbins

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Curriculum Vitae for R J Robbins

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