Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Jul-2025 18:10 ET (10-Jul-2025 22:10 GMT/UTC)
A new study suggests that, under realistic scenarios of high emissions and socioeconomic development, annual heat-related deaths in the U.K. could rise to about 50 times current rates by the 2070s, but that climate change mitigation and adaptation could significantly limit this rise. Rebecca Cole of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U.K., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Climate.
The annual number of heat-related deaths in England and Wales is set to rise up to fiftyfold over the next 50 years because of climate change, finds new research by UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Genomic insights into Greenland’s iconic sled dog reveal a rich history of Inuit migration and Arctic adaptation, according to a new study. The findings provide a crucial guide for preserving the ancient breed amid climate threats and rapid cultural change. For over 9,500 years, sled dogs have been a central part of Arctic life. While many Arctic sled dog breeds have been replaced, mixed with other dogs, or shifted into domestic roles, the Greenland sled dog, or Qimmeq (pl. Qimmit), has uniquely preserved its traditional role as a working sled dog. However, this ancient working relationship now faces modern threats: climate change, urbanization, and modern technologies like snowmobiles are rapidly eroding the conditions that have long supported Qimmit and their traditional role. The ongoing decline in Qimmeq population underscores the urgency of documenting their remaining genetic diversity to guide conservation efforts. To reconstruct the breed’s history, Tatiana Feuerborn and colleagues sequenced genomes from 92 dogs across Greenland spanning the past 800 years, capturing both ancient and modern individuals, and compared them with over 1,900 published dog genomes. Feuerborn et al. discovered that Qimmit form a distinct clade with other ancient Arctic dogs – most notably a 3,700-year-old Alaskan dog. This genetic continuity, despite thousands of years and great geographic distances, supports the theory of a rapid Inuit migration across the North American Arctic. Notably, the authors found that the genetic differentiation among regional dog populations mirrors the cultural and linguistic divisions of the indigenous peoples of Greenland. Moreover, the analysis revealed further evidence of two distinct migrations of dogs into Greenland, with data that indicate an earlier-than-expected arrival of people to the region. Feuerborn et al. also show that despite European colonization of Greenland, there is minimal European ancestry in present-day Qimmit, likely due to overall isolation of the populations and more modern preservation policies. “These insights into the Qimmit provide a baseline for levels of inbreeding and introgression that can serve as a foundation for informed management aimed at the preservation of these remarkable dogs,” write the authors. “Studies such as this demonstrate the relevance of paleogenomic insight into current conversations and decisions centered around conservation and preservation of culturally significant species.”
Podcast: A segment of Science's weekly podcast with Tatiana Feuerborn, related to this research, will be available on the Science.org podcast landing page [http://www.science.org/podcasts] after the embargo lifts. Reporters are free to make use of the segments for broadcast purposes and/or quote from them – with appropriate attribution (i.e., cite "Science podcast"). Please note that the file itself should not be posted to any other Web site.
A new study published in Engineering offers insights into how global land surface soil organic carbon (SOC) levels are being influenced by climate change. The research explores historical trends and projects future changes in SOC, highlighting the complex interplay of climate factors and vegetation cover. While the findings indicate an overall increase in SOC, they also underscore the limitations of relying solely on natural carbon sinks to meet global carbon neutrality goals. This report provides a balanced view of the challenges and opportunities in leveraging soil carbon sequestration as part of broader climate mitigation strategies.
As ice sheets retreat, glacial environments initially absorb greenhouse gases but soil development over long times creates a source of greenhouse gases.
With countries such as the UK declaring ambitious goals for both AI leadership and decarbonisation, a new report suggests that AI could drive a 25-fold increase in the global tech sector’s energy use by 2040.
Despite widespread human impacts to wildlife diversity worldwide, many fish communities on the seafloor have maintained their uniqueness, reports a new study led by Zoë Kitchel, formerly of Rutgers University, and colleagues, published July 9 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate.
A new policy brief, produced as part of the LAMASUS project, highlights that strategic agricultural de-intensification in the EU could help reduce agricultural carbon emissions by nearly a third and considerably improve biodiversity recovery.