A pioneering study has revealed that by the turn of the next century at least half a million more people in the UK will be exposed to risk of coastal flooding – a 25% increase compared to now. The research, led by the Met Office and the University of Bristol, quantifies for the first time the scale of the UK population at threat from coastal flooding under future sea-level rise projections.

New analysis shows that a ‘pause’ in Arctic winter sea ice decline seen in the early 2020s has ended following record lows in 2025 and early 2026.

Climate change isn't just changing how much rain falls, it is also changing when it falls, and that timing can dramatically reshape entire plant communities. A new study shows that droughts occurring at different points in the growing season have very different effects on when plants flower and how they compete with one another, revealing that the timing of rainfall may be a better predictor of ecosystem change than total rainfall alone.

Researchers analyzed snow droughts in Xinjiang from 1980 to 2021 and classified them into warm-only, dry-only, and warm-dry types. The study identifies strong spatial heterogeneity, highlights the Kunlun Mountains as a major hotspot, and shows that warm-dry snow droughts increased markedly after 2000.