EurekAlert! Climate Change - Latest News Releases

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Jun-2026 22:16 ET (21-Jun-2026 02:16 GMT/UTC)

18-May-2026

Interactive hydrology makes a splash with students

Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo have developed a game-based rainfall–runoff model that allows users to explore how floods form by adjusting land and environmental conditions. A classroom study with high school students showed that interactive, trial-and-error gameplay with score-based feedback improved their understanding of complex hydrological processes.

Journal: Water Resources Research

18-May-2026

Sea level rise is swallowing Mid-Atlantic farmland faster than expected, study finds

Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Ghost forests, the cemetery-like groupings of dead trees killed by saltwater intrusion, have become haunting symbols of sea level rise overtaking land along the Mid-Atlantic coast. But a new study in Nature Sustainability led by William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS points to even more dramatic land losses in the region’s coastal farmlands, where the rate of marsh encroachment is happening nearly twice as fast.

Journal: Nature Sustainability

18-May-2026

Turning down the heat from data centers

Arizona State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Waste heat from data centers can boost air temperatures in downwind neighborhoods by as much as 4 degrees Fahrenheit. With hundreds of megawatts of data center capacity operating in many cities, and thousands more proposed, the combined impact on urban temperature could be substantial. Researchers aim to help develop solutions that could significantly reduce downwind impacts.

18-May-2026

Southeast University and Korea University researchers develop smarter copper catalysts for turning CO₂ into fuels

Cactus Communications
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rising carbon dioxide emissions pose a major global challenge. Electrochemical CO₂ reduction using copper-based electrocatalysts offers a promising and sustainable route to convert CO₂ into valuable multi-carbon fuels and chemicals. However, achieving high stability and selectivity remains difficult. Researchers have now examined advanced catalyst design strategies that integrate atomic-level engineering, machine learning and in situ analysis to enhance performance and enable scalable carbon recycling systems significantly.

Journal: Small Structures

18-May-2026

Full fossil fuel phase-out by 2050 would require up to 80% more electricity generation

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research by an international team of scientists finds that fully phasing out fossil fuels worldwide by 2050 would require global electricity generation to expand by roughly 60 to 80% beyond the levels projected in conventional 1.5°C climate pathways. The study also shows that eliminating fossil fuels could significantly reduce dependence on CO₂ removal technologies and underground carbon storage.

Journal: Nature Communications

18-May-2026

Sea levels rising dramatically in some areas due to land subsidence

Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Densely populated coastal regions in many parts of the world are particularly vulnerable to flooding. The sinking of land masses exacerbates the impacts of rising sea levels in these areas. This is shown by researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Tulane University.

Journal: Nature Communications

15-May-2026

Study: Climate warming drives sustained oxygen loss in global rivers

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Peer-Reviewed Publication

According to a study published in Science Advances on May 15, global rivers are undergoing widespread and sustained deoxygenation driven by climate warming, among which tropical rivers are the most vulnerable ecosystems, with an urgent need to combat oxygen loss.

Journal: Science Advances

15-May-2026

New report charts path for climate-disease preparedness

American Society for Microbiology
Reports and Proceedings

The American Academy of Microbiology, the honorific leadership group and scientific think tank within the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) released a new report examining how climate change is reshaping the infectious disease landscape and what’s needed to strengthen global health preparedness in response.

15-May-2026

Scientists identify hidden accelerant in Antarctic ice loss

University of Maryland
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new University of Maryland-led study shows that meltwater flowing off ice shelves changes the ocean in ways that drive even faster melting—and most global climate projections don’t even include it.

Journal: Nature Geoscience

15-May-2026

Coal pollution is cutting solar power output, study finds

University of Oxford
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research led by the University of Oxford and University College London (UCL) has revealed that pollution from coal-fired power plants is significantly reducing the energy output of solar photovoltaic (solar PV) installations, particularly where these are expanding side by side. The findings have been published today (15 May) in Nature Sustainability.

Journal: Nature Sustainability