Freshwater fish populations that dwell nearer the poles are outperforming their equatorial counterparts, researchers have found. Large-bodied migratory species such as Atlantic salmon are thriving as warming temperatures opens up new habitats at the poleward edge of their ranges. The study, published today in PNAS, was based on a dataset of over 10,000 time series…
A University of Queensland-led study shows greenhouse gas emissions from tourism have been growing more than 2 times faster than those from the rest of the global economy. Associate Professor Ya-Yen Sun from UQ’s Business School said rapid expansion in travel demand has meant carbon from tourism activities accounts for 9% of the world’s total…
Temperatures in cities are rising across the globe and urban heat stress is already a major problem causing illness, death, a surge in energy use to cool buildings down, heat-related social inequality issues and problems with urban infrastructure. Some cities have already started implementing mitigation strategies, with tree planting prominent among them. But a University…
In recent years, frequent and long-lasting droughts have caused severe water shortages and threatened farming production. This occurred in the complex context of climate change and its effects, in which the water crisis plays a key role.Regenerating soil benefits not only the agriculture sector but the whole community. Every farmer can immediately start doing it by…
Researchers find a potential explanation for the unusually sudden temperature rise in 2023: reduced low-level cloud cover limits Earth’s ability to reflect solar radiation. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, heatwaves at sea – 2023 set a number of alarming new records. The global mean temperature also rose to nearly 1.5 degrees above the preindustrial level,…
Study shows: Chickpeas are a drought-resistant legume plant with a high protein content Climate change has a negative impact on food security. An international research team led by Wolfram Weckwerth from the University of Vienna has now conducted a study to investigate the natural variation of different chickpea genotypes and their resistance to drought stress….
Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods, unseasonal heavy rain and droughts have been increasingly common in Europe in the last few years. As such, southern European countries like Spain, Italy and Portugal have been focusing more on implementing climate change strategies to meet these changing conditions. Here are the top five lessons to be…
Soil, often revered as the ‘Skin of the Earth’ or geo-derma, is a biogeochemically transformed layer of parent rock and sediments, typically about one meter deep, that supports most terrestrial life. Despite its thinness, this vital resource underpins the production of over 95% of human food and shelters approximately two-thirds of the planet’s biodiversity. However,…
With eight billion people, we use a lot of the Earth’s resources in ways that are likely unsustainable. Klaus Hubacek, Professor of Science, Technology and Society at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, takes stock of the situation. How much land, water, and other resources does our lifestyle require? And how can we adapt this…
The dried out Lake Picrolimni is seen from above, near the village of Mikrokampos, northern Greece, August 19. A severe drought in northern Greece, worsened by successive heatwaves and low rainfall, is causing water shortages that are threatening agriculture, drying up lakes, and stressing local communities dependent on tourism. [Giannis Papanikos/AP] We talk on the…