EurekAlert! Climate Change - Latest News Releases

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Jun-2026 19:16 ET (21-Jun-2026 23:16 GMT/UTC)

When temperatures drop, heart-related deaths rise

American College of Cardiology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

On the heels of one of the coldest winters in memory for large swaths of the country, new research highlights an often overlooked cost of cold weather: months with lower temperatures see significantly greater rates of death from heart attacks, strokes and coronary artery disease than milder months. According to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26), hotter temperatures were also associated with increases in cardiovascular deaths, but at a more modest rate.

Journal: American Journal of Preventive Cardiology
Meeting: American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session

African coastlines face unprecedented sea level surge crisis

University of Cape Town - Faculty of Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Cape Town researchers have discovered that the 2023-2024 El Niño triggered the largest sea level surge ever recorded across Africa's marine domains. A rare convergence of climate patterns amplified the event, causing sea levels to rise faster than the global average and placing over 15 million coastal residents at heightened flood risk. The study is published in Communications Earth & Environment.

Journal: Communications Earth & Environment
Funder: Canada's C150 Research Program

Warming coastal waters primary driver of large-scale humid heatwaves

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rising sea surface temperatures in coastal waters are driving 50 to 64 percent of the increase in large-scale humid heatwaves according to new research. The study, from researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Princeton University and Sun Yat-sen University, implies that coastal sea surface temperatures could be a potential early warning indicator for widespread humid heat extremes.

Journal: Nature Geoscience

From tropics to poles: how Pacific Ocean warming sets the stage for Antarctic stratospheric changes months later

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

New research reveals a cross-seasonal pathway linking tropical sea surface temperatures to the Antarctic polar vortex, with implications for long-range climate prediction.

Journal: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Climate change may complicate avalanche risk across the Pacific Northwest

University of Washington
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research shows that as winters get warmer, more icy crusts may form within snowpacks in much of the Pacific Northwest, increasing the risk of avalanche in some areas and changing the behavior of wildlife across the region.

Journal: ARC Geophysical Research

Beyond climate resilience: the science of thriving in a chaotic world

Michigan State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Climate resilience helps ecosystems survive, but it doesn’t always help them thrive. So researchers at Michigan State University asked: could some living things not just weather storms, but emerge stronger on the other side? A mathematical modeling study puts the science of "antifragility" to the test.

Journal: The American Naturalist

New paper outlines pathways to equitable flood adaptation

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A perspective published in Nature Water in February underscores how adaptation and mitigation measures to address urban flooding often exacerbate environmental injustices for society’s most vulnerable groups — not just in the US, but around the world. Led by Rebecca Hale of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and co-authored by urban ecologist Elizabeth Cook of Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the piece offers strategies for governments, organizations, and individuals involved in climate adaptation to break the cycle.

Journal: Nature Water

Vertical gardens prove effective in improving indoor air quality

University of Seville
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Seville have demonstrated the effectiveness of active vertical garden systems in improving indoor air quality in buildings. To do so, they worked inside a closed glass chamber installed at the Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineering, where they found that after 24 hours, 96% to 98% of the pollutants used in the various experiments had disappeared.

Journal: Atmospheric Environment

A ‘shocking’ carbon discovery in Sweden’s forests

Stanford University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study finds old-growth forests in Sweden store far more carbon than the industrial tree plantations that are rapidly replacing them, with soil accounting for most of the difference. Protecting undisturbed areas could do more to mitigate climate change than previously thought.

Journal: Science
Funder: The Crafoord Foundation, Swedish Research Council, Carl Tryggers Stiftelse för Vetenskaplig Forskning, Stiftelsen Extensus, Stiftelsen Längmanska Kulturfonden, Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, P.O. Lundells stiftelse, Jan Hain stiftelse för vetenskaplig teknisk forskning inom miljö och klimat, EU H2020 Climb-Forest, MERGE, Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford Sustainability Accelerator

Old-growth forests store a lot more carbon than managed forests

Lund University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Swedish old-growth forests store 83 percent more carbon than managed forests, according to a new study from Lund University. The difference is substantially larger than previous estimates and is mainly due to large carbon stocks in the soil.

Journal: Science

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