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Atmospheric Science

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 24-Jun-2026 01:15 ET (24-Jun-2026 05:15 GMT/UTC)

Many nations underestimate greenhouse emissions from wastewater systems, but the lapse is fixable

Princeton University, Engineering School
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Nations worldwide underestimate greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater facilities, but updating measurements could fix this.

Journal: Nature Climate Change
Funder: Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Water Research Foundation

New evidence that ancient floods "rewrote" civilizations along the Yangtze River

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A recent study published in National Science Review has reconstructed the amount of rainfall experienced in the Middle Yangtze Valley between 4,600 and 3,500 years ago. The results show that a 140-year high-rainfall interval coincided with the abandonment of an ancient Shijiahe city. This highlights that water excess can be as problematic as water shortage, even for advanced ancient civilizations.

Journal: National Science Review

Climate change in the past: First indicators of resilience in tropical life, provided that global warming did not exceed 1.5 degrees

Utrecht University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New geological data indicate that marine life is somewhat resilient to warming in the tropics. Chris Fokkema, earth scientist at Utrecht University, discovered that tropical algae were largely unaffected by a number of periods of global warming of up to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the distant past. These unicellar organisms form the basis of food webs and are generally very sensitive to rising temperatures. Previous studies of periods of even greater warming showed a dramatic decline in these organisms. “Somewhere beyond those 1.5 degrees, a tipping point occurs.”

Journal: Geology

Are climate models detecting monsoon changes a decade too early? “Super-simulations” say “yes”

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New "super-simulations" reveal climate models have been mistaking natural weather noise for human-caused monsoon changes. These models predict the signal emerges ~10 years too early. Before 2050, nature's own variability—not model flaws—drives uncertainty. This matters for policy timing.

Journal: Advances in Atmospheric Sciences

The invisible hand of climate change: How extreme heat dictates who is born

Portland State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research reveals that extreme heat is literally changing the human population's sex ratio — but for two completely different reasons. A massive study of 5 million births in sub-Saharan Africa and India, published recently in PNAS, shows that hot days during pregnancy result in significantly fewer male births.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the cause is biological. Heat stress during the first trimester increases the rate of miscarriage. Because male fetuses are biologically more fragile, they are disproportionately lost to maternal heat stress.

In India, however, the cause is behavioral. Heat waves during the second trimester disrupt access to medical services and financial resources, inadvertently reducing the rate of sex-selective abortions (which typically target girls).

Co-authored by researchers including Portland State University's Joshua Wilde, the study highlights how climate change is quietly acting as both a biological filter and a disruptor of human behavior.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Heat and pregnancy

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Article: Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat waves and the exposure of pregnant individuals to extreme heat. This article summarizes current evidence about risks to maternal health from ambient heat (hot weather, high indoor temperatures, and occupational exposures) and how these risks can be managed.

Journal: JAMA

Moist heatwave forecasts reduce health risks at major events

University of Reading
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Forecasters could give India weeks of advance warning before moist heatwaves strike

Journal: Climate Dynamics

Code for Earth launches 2026 climate and weather data challenges

ECMWF
Business Announcement

ECMWF has launched a new round of Code for Earth data challenges, inviting innovators to develop open-source solutions to real-world weather and climate problems. This year’s challenges are related to wildfires, floods, machine learning reliability, and for the first time, a dedicated stream focused on joint challenges with African partners.

Magdalen Islands’ peatlands hold vital clues about ancient Atlantic hurricanes, Concordia research finds

Concordia University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Concordia researchers used peatland cores from the Magdalen Islands to reconstruct 4,000 years of Atlantic storm activity, revealing ancient periods of heightened hurricane impact. The study links storm frequency to climate conditions, improving understanding of long-term patterns and future risks as warming accelerates storm impacts in Atlantic Canada.

Journal: Climate of the Past
Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Fonds de recherche du Québec

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