Studies on the evolution of characteristics and dynamic mechanisms of dry/wet status in global arid regions are contradictory. We systematically assessed the evolution and drivers of dry/wet status in global arid regions from a paleoclimate perspective using observational datasets, paleoclimate records, and climate model simulations from Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project Phase 4 (PMIP4)-Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) and PMIP3-CMIP5. Our results show that climate change during the last glacial maximum (LGM) provides a reverse analog for the near-future climate in global arid regions. The notable migration of the subtropical high during the LGM profoundly altered the atmospheric circulation and influenced dry/wet status in global arid regions. The multimodel ensembles project that under the shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) 8.5 scenario, nonuniform heating induced by polar-amplified warming will introduce northward migration of the subtropical high. The resulting reduction in subtropical precipitation will lead to expansion of global arid regions under global warming, which is consistent with previous studies based on atmospheric aridity.

Following the Great East Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster of 11 March 2011, the Japanese government began constructing a series of 440 seawalls along the north-eastern coast of Honshu. Cumulatively measuring 394.2km, they are designed to defend coastal communities against tsunami that frequently strike the region. We present a case study of the new seawall in Tarō, Iwate Prefecture, which had previously constructed massive sea defences in the wake of two tsunami in 1896 and 1933, which were subsequently destroyed in 2011. We ask whether the government has properly imagined the next disaster for the era of climate change and, therefore, whether its rationale for Tarō‘s new seawall is sufficient. We argue that the government has implemented an incremental strengthening of Tarō‘s existing tsunami defence infrastructure. Significantly, this does not anticipate global warming driven sea level rise, which is accelerating, and which requires transformational adaptation. This continues a national pattern of disaster preparedness and response established in the early 20th century, which resulted in the failure to imagine the 2011 tsunami. We conclude by recalling the lessons of France's Maginot Line and invoke the philosophy of Tanaka Shōzō, father of Japan's modern environmental movement, who urged Japanese to adjust to the flow (nagare) of nature, rather than defend against it, lest they are undone by the force of its backflow (gyakuryū).

A specimen of Prionotus punctatus was caught in Bahía Engaño, Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina. This extends the known distribution by 900 km and a 5.5° further south from its previous southernmost record. This record increases the number of species of the genus Prionotus and the fish diversity of central Patagonia. The presence of P. punctatus along with other recent reports of fish of tropical and subtropical lineages in central Patagonia adds new evidence on the ongoing tropicalization of the Patagonian Sea.

Crowdsourcing platforms—such as Vivino—that aggregate the opinions of large numbers of amateur wine reviewers represent a new source of information on the wine market. We assess the validity of aggregated Vivino ratings based on two criteria: correlation with professional critics’ ratings and sensitivity to weather conditions affecting the quality of grapes. We construct a large, novel dataset consisting of Vivino ratings for a portfolio of red wines from Bordeaux, review scores from professional critics, and weather data from a local weather station. Vivino ratings correlate substantially with those of professional critics, but these correlations are smaller than those among professional critics. This difference can be partly attributed to differences in scope: Whereas amateurs focus on immediate pleasure, professionals gauge the wine’s potential once it has matured. Moreover, both crowdsourced and professional ratings respond to weather conditions in line with what viticulture literature has identified as ideal, but also hint to detrimental effects of global warming on wine quality. In sum, our results demonstrate that crowdsourced ratings are a valid source of information and can generate valuable insights for both consumers and producers.

Climate change is a global challenge to ecosystem services, altering crop yields and food security worldwide. In the context of climate change, Onobrychis viciifolia Scop. (sainfoin) can offer a multitude of ecosystem services conferred by its multifaceted beneficial properties. We reviewed the morphological, biochemical and physiological responses to environmental stressors of O. viciifolia, summarized its ecological, agronomic, nutritional and biological interests, and we discussed its use under climate change. Onobrychis viciifolia is a hemicryptophyte forage legume adapted to arid and semiarid regions by evolving a diverse array of protective mechanisms against abiotic stressors at morphological, biochemical and physiological levels. In the present scenario of climate change, O. viciifolia has desirable forage characteristics such as high nutritive value, high voluntary intake and palatability to grazing animals, leading to satisfying animal performance for milk, meat, honey and wool production. Recent studies suggest that O. viciifolia has several highly beneficial phytochemical properties including condensed tannins and polyphenol content, which have been demonstrated to have anthelmintic activities, enhance protein utilization, and prevent bloating. In addition, O. viciifolia also has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequestrate atmospheric carbon and nitrogen into the soil. Ethnobotanical investigations show that O. viciifolia possesses antimicrobial, antiseptic and vulnerary activities. This review could be helpful for understanding of O. viciifolia characteristics, interests and uses, thus promoting its reasonable cultivation under a changing climate.

Global warming is exposing many organisms to severe thermal conditions and is having impacts at multiple levels of biological organisation, from individuals to species and beyond. Biotic and abiotic factors can influence organismal thermal tolerance, shaping responses to climate change. In eusocial ants, thermal tolerance can be measured at the colony level (among workers within colonies), the population level (among colonies within species), and the community level (among species). We analysed critical thermal maxima (CTmax) across these three levels for ants in a semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. We examined the individual and combined effects of phylogeny, body size (BS), and nesting microhabitat on community-level CTmax and the individual effects of BS on population- and colony-level CTmax. We sampled 1864 workers from 99 ant colonies across 47 species, for which we characterised CTmax, nesting microhabitat, BS, and phylogenetic history. Among species, CTmax ranged from 39.3 to 49.7°C, and community-level differences were best explained by phylogeny and BS. For more than half of the species, CTmax differed significantly among colonies in a way that was not explained by BS. Notably, there was almost as much variability in CTmax within colonies as within the entire community. Monomorphic and polymorphic species exhibited similar levels of CTmax variability within colonies, a pattern not always explained by BS. This vital intra- and inter-colony variability in thermal tolerance is likely allows tropical ant species to better cope with climate change. Our results underscore why ecological research must examine multiple levels of biological organisation.

Understanding trait variation in response to temperature is important to predict how crops respond to rising temperature. Although we have a sound understanding of the effects of increasing temperature on growth and development of crops, a robust assessment of how crop reproductive processes are affected by climate warming is still lacking. In this study, we experimentally investigate how the growth temperature affects the cardinal temperatures of in vitro pollen germination of widely distributed tree crop species Cocos nucifera L. (cultivar Sri Lankan Tall). We hypothesize that temperature optima for pollen germination and pollen tube growth would be determined by the growth temperature. Our results showed that the temperature optima of pollen germination and pollen tube growth were higher at relatively warmer sites (sites where the mean annual temperature ∼ 28°C) compared to the cooler sites (sites where the mean annual temperature ∼ 22°C). The two processes were better coordinated at warmer sites. We speculate that tropical tree species that are currently growing in relatively cooler environments may have the capacity to perform their reproductive physiological functions in future warmer climates without any substantial negative impacts. Findings of this study should prove useful in quantifying the potential impacts of climate warming on tropical agro-ecosystems, improving the representation of plant reproduction in crop models.

The predictions of the adverse effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change are now accepted. Somewhat less attention has been given to the economic, social, and political consequences. The three interact: the former will have social and political effects, which in turn will harm economies and economic well-being. This analysis of poor countries draws on much recent evidence and various projections. Climate damage contributes to internal political instability and conflict. There is a risk that poor countries will be driven down economically, so reducing the capacity of their governments: some will become fragile states. Internal migration is likely to become a central policy issue. However, international migration will also grow. Climate damage will drag countries into both cooperation and conflict with each other. The effects on sending countries, contiguous countries, and destination countries are examined. This scenario presented is predictive but should be taken as a warning.

Few coastal ecosystems remain untouched by direct human activities, and none are unimpacted by anthropogenic climate change. These drivers interact with and exacerbate each other in complex ways, yielding a mosaic of ecological consequences that range from adaptive responses, such as geographic range shifts and changes in phenology, to severe impacts, such as mass mortalities, ecological regime shifts and loss of biodiversity. Identifying the role of climate change in these phenomena requires corroborating evidence from multiple lines of evidence, including laboratory experiments, field observations, numerical models and palaeorecords. Yet few studies can confidently quantify the magnitude of the effect attributable solely to climate change, because climate change seldom acts alone in coastal ecosystems. Projections of future risk are further complicated by scenario uncertainty – that is, our lack of knowledge about the degree to which humanity will mitigate greenhouse-gas emissions, or will make changes to the other ways we impact coastal ecosystems. Irrespective, ocean warming would be impossible to reverse before the end of the century, and sea levels are likely to continue to rise for centuries and remain elevated for millennia. Therefore, future risks to coastal ecosystems from climate change are projected to mirror the impacts already observed, with severity escalating with cumulative emissions. Promising avenues for progress beyond such qualitative assessments include collaborative modelling initiatives, such as model intercomparison projects, and the use of a broader range of knowledge systems. But we can reduce risks to coastal ecosystems by rapidly reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, by restoring damaged habitats, by regulating non-climate stressors using climate-smart conservation actions, and by implementing inclusive coastal-zone management approaches, especially those involving nature-based solutions.

The Kigali Amendment introduced a new family of chemical compounds, which do not contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion but present a high global warming potential, under the watch of the Montreal Protocol in 2016. Earlier this year, a press note from the World Meteorological Organization entitled “Ozone layer recovery is on track, helping avoid global warming by 0.5°C” caught our attention because of the wrong conclusions that can be potentially drawn by laypersons due to an apparent linkage of ozone depletion and global warming problems. Public communication of the Montreal Protocol since the Kigali Amendment should be more careful than ever to avoid lessening the social perception of the threat of climate change, particularly considering that society already has a distorted representation of these problems, assuming causal relations between ozone depletion and climate change, that could lead to unfounded optimism towards the climate crisis.

What should we do about climate change? This article examines the ethical problems that arise from climate change, and considers our obligations and responsibilities to one another, other species and the planet because of global warming.

Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs) may play an important role in lowering the economic costs of greenhouse gas mitigation and in overcoming political-economy constraints on the use of carbon taxes or equivalent measures. A carbon tax plus a full BCA could deal with the competitiveness challenges arising from carbon taxes by using the WTO's National Treatment principle to apply equal levies on domestic production and on imports, and by symmetrically rebating the carbon tax on exports in the manner of a value-added tax (VAT) export rebate. This approach would shift the base for carbon taxation from production to demand and potentially achieve substantial reductions in the cost of cutting emissions. It would avoid the massive measurement and compliance problems associated with BCAs based on foreign emission intensities. By contrast, import-only BCAs distort prices of importables relative to exportables; create divisive trade conflicts and deterioration in the terms of trade for developing countries; and likely require development of complex sets of import preferences.

Meteorological extremes such as heatwaves and water limitations during the ripening season could negatively impact vine ecophysiology and berry metabolism resulting in lower yield per vine. This project aimed to compare two different soil managements during two growing-production seasons (2021 and 2022) with respect to control without any treatment (control). The two managements were: Zeowine (30 t/ha; a soil conditioner made with clinoptilolite and compost proceeding of industrial wine-waste) and compost (20 t/ha). The trial was organized at Col d'Orcia Estate (Montalcino, Tuscan wine region, Italy). The purpose was twofold: (1) to evaluate the effects of Zeowine treatments on leaf gas exchanges, midday stem water potential, chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf temperature (ecophysiology); and (2) to determine any repercussions on the quality of the grapes (technological and phenolics analyses). The parameters plant yield, yeast assimilable nitrogen, fractionation of anthocyanins (cyanidin, delphinidin, malvidin, peonidin and petunidin), caffeic acid, coumaric acid, gallic acid, ferulic acid, kaempferol and quercetin were also analysed. Zeowine showed higher photosynthesis, less negative midday water potential and lower leaf temperature. Essentially, no significant difference was found between the compost and the control. Furthermore, Zeowine grapevines showed higher anthocyanin accumulation and less quercetin content. In general, compost applied together with zeolite could alleviate the adverse effects of water stress and improve plant growth, yield and quality. The control management strategy proved to be the least beneficial for the well-being of the plant and the final quality of the product, confirming the need for amendments in critical years.