Research led by climate scientists from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) reveals that millions of today’s young people will live through unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves, crop failures, river floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical storms under current climate policies. If global temperatures rise by 3.5°C by 2100, 92% of children born in 2020 will experience…
The municipalities of Mytilene and Western Lesbos on the eastern Aegean Island of Lesbos have been declared in a state of emergency for one month due to a dramatic decline in water reserves. The decision aims to bypass red tape causing delays, expedite much-needed measures and infrastructure projects, and address the water shortage. A detailed…
Intercropping has been claimed to improve the soil structure and soil quality, however its effects on soil fertility parameters in semi-arid Mediterranean agroecosystems remain unclear. The objective of this study was to assess whether intercropping and its combination with N fertilisation are adequate practices to improve the soil aggregate stability and organic matter quality. An…
There is an olive tree close to us here in interior Alentejo that has been dated and certified with more than 2000 years. I like to imagine what she’s seen: the Romans, the Moors, the Christian kings and queens. She has watched the cultivation of olive oil, of wine in amphora, and the extraction of…
Climate change has a significant impact on water resources, making it essential to re-evaluate water management strategies and incorporate climate scenarios in assessments. The Municipal Department of Aigeiros is located in the northern part of Greece. Water consumption is high in Aigeiros and the increased future temperatures projected during the summer period will create significant…
The clear signs of human-induced climate change reached new heights in 2024, which was likely the first calendar year to be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era, with a global mean near-surface temperature of 1.55 ± 0.13 °C above the 1850-1900 average. This is the warmest year in the 175-year observational record. The State…
Around the world, huge swathes of fertile land are turning into arid wastelands at alarming rates, threatening ecosystems, agriculture, and humanity. This process is known as desertification, and it is closely linked to the effects of climate change. Desertification is accelerating due to rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns, and human activities. The consequences of desertification…
In Greece, the reduced olive oil prices at origin are not reflected in the retail market, as consumers continue to dig deep into their pockets when buying olive oil in supermarkets and grocery stores. Producer prices for extra virgin olive oil in the country have almost halved this year, ranging from €4.80 per kilogram in…
Mosquitoes are able to survive prolonged droughts by drinking blood, which helps to explain how their populations quickly rebound when it finally rains, biologists at the University of Cincinnati said. UC postdoctoral researcher Christopher Holmes led a study examining how two species of mosquito known for infecting people with diseases such as malaria were able…
Increasingly common since 1980, persistent multi-year droughts will continue to advance with the warming climate, warns a study from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research (WSL), with Professor Francesca Pellicciotti from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) participating. This publicly available forty-year global quantitative inventory, now published in Science,…