EurekAlert! Climate Change - Latest News Releases

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 6-Nov-2025 14:11 ET (6-Nov-2025 19:11 GMT/UTC)

Cul-de-sac effect: Why Mediterranean regions are becoming more prone to extreme floods in a changing climate

CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
Peer-Reviewed Publication

By analyzing the devastating floods that affected Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in 2023 and 2024, a team of researchers from CMCC - the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change - describes for the first time how a particular orographic configuration makes certain regions particularly prone to extreme flooding. The “cul-de-sac” effect: where mountains act as a trap for moisture over a confined area for several days, while a stationary cyclone continues to channel humid air, leading to prolonged and intense precipitation. The research shows how these events, which affect other Mediterranean areas with similar orography, could become more frequent in a changing climate, paving the way for new forecasts and improved early warning systems that will help communities better prepare.

Launch of world's first online course in carbon dioxide removal

Heriot-Watt University
Business Announcement

In a global first, Heriot-Watt University has unveiled a groundbreaking new online course dedicated to tackling the excess of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth’s atmosphere, one of the root causes of climate change.

Polar bears act as crucial providers for Arctic species

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study published in the scientific journal Oikos reveals for the first time the critical role polar bears play as carrion providers for Arctic species. Researchers from University of Manitoba and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, alongside researchers from Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the University of Alberta, have estimated that polar bears leave behind approximately 7.6 million kilograms of their prey annually, creating a massive and vital food source for a wide network of arctic scavenger species.

Journal: Oikos

Biochar and hydrochar show contrasting climate effects in boreal grasslands

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Adding carbon-rich materials such as biochar and hydrochar to farmland soils is often seen as a promising way to fight climate change. But a new study from Finland shows that the type of char used can make a big difference in whether the soil releases or stores greenhouse gases.

Journal: Biochar

California schools are losing tree canopy

University of California - Davis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About 85% of elementary schools studied in California experienced some loss of trees between 2018 and 2022, found a UC Davis study.

Journal: Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
Funder: U.S. Forest Service

Study documents wind regulations across all Kansas counties, can help guide energy policies nationwide

University of Kansas
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Kansas have conducted a study based on their building of the Kansas Energy Transition Atlas. The tool gathers wind energy regulations for all of the state's 105 counties, showing what kind of regulations each has, as well as information on transmission lines, turbine height and much more. The study shows how many counties have regs that enable wind development, how many seek to block them and show that agricultural reliance factors into allowing wind in a county, while voting patterns did not factor in to types of regs. The site not only shows how a state with massive wind energy potential handles the issue, but can help guide the nation in energy transition policies, the researchers argue.

Journal: Sustainability

As global warming worsens, so may space communications

Kyushu University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Sporadic-E is a phenomenon that occurs in the ionosphere that can disrupt radio communications. Through simulations, researchers have found that rising CO₂ levels in our atmosphere could lead to sporadic-E becoming stronger, occur at lower altitudes, and persist longer at night.

Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Global construction carbon footprint set to double by 2050

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As the world marks UN World Cities Day on 31 October – a call to make cities more sustainable – a new international study warns that the global construction sector’s carbon footprint is on track to double by 2050, threatening to derail efforts to meet the Paris Agreement climate targets.

Journal: Communications Earth & Environment

Virtual reality helps people understand and care about distant communities

Stanford University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Direct experiences have powerful effects on perception – a truth at the heart of new Stanford-led research showing how immersive VR can make distant places feel more immediate and climate-related impacts, such as flooding, feel personally relevant. Compared to seeing static images, the approach engenders feelings more likely to lead to constructive actions.

Journal: Scientific Reports

Deep emission cuts before mid-century decisive to reduce long-term sea-level rise legacy

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research shows that near-term mitigation could spare future generations around 0.6 meters of sea-level rise that would be caused by emissions between 2020 and 2090 following current policies, making today’s decisions critical not only for limiting warming but also for coastal impacts.

Journal: Nature Climate Change

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