EurekAlert! Climate Change - Latest News Releases

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Dec-2025 05:11 ET (30-Dec-2025 10:11 GMT/UTC)

Study finds extreme weather changes who migrates, not just how many

Stanford University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new global study finds that extreme weather may trap many populations in place even as it increases migrations of other groups. The analysis shows that age and education strongly shape who migrates in response to severe heat, cold, floods, and droughts.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Harvard University Center for the Environment, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

Climate change is making rollercoaster harvests the new normal

University of British Columbia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new global study shows that hotter and drier conditions are making food production more volatile, with crop yields of corn, soybean and sorghum swinging more sharply from year to year. For some, it may mean pricier burgers; for others, it can bring financial strain and hunger.

Journal: Science Advances

Hurricane Sandy linked to lasting heart disease risk in elderly

Weill Cornell Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The study, published Sept. 3 in JAMA Network Open, found that older adults living in flood-hit areas in New Jersey faced a 5% higher risk of heart disease for up to five years after Sandy’s landfall. This is one of the first studies to rigorously quantify long-term cardiovascular risks associated with flooding in older adults. Most studies focus on the immediate consequences of severe weather events.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Safe, practical underground carbon storage could reduce warming by only 0.7°C – almost 10 times less than previously thought

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new IIASA-led study for the first time maps safe areas that can practically be used for underground carbon storage, and estimates that using them all would only cut warming by 0.7°C. The result is almost ten times lower than previous estimates of around 6°C, which considered the total global potential for geological storage, including in risky zones, where storing carbon could trigger earthquakes and contaminate drinking water supplies. The researchers say the study shows geological storage is a scarce, finite resource and warn countries must use it in a highly targeted way.

Journal: Nature

From greenhouse gas to carbonate beneath the seafloor

Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
Reports and Proceedings

Are basaltic rocks along continental margins suitable for the permanent and safe storage of carbon dioxide? This is the question a team of German and Norwegian researchers will be pursuing on board the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN. Expedition MSM140 led by Dr. Ingo Klaucke from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel will investigate geological structures on the Vøring Plateau off the Norwegian coast until 9 October. The aim is to determine whether basalt formations below the seabed are suitable for the long-term geological storage of CO₂. The expedition is part of the multinational PERBAS project.

Countries’ carbon budget math is broken

Utrecht University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To meet the Paris Agreement goals, countries must act according to their ‘fair share’ targets. However, researchers from Utrecht University found a bias in how those targets were calculated until now: “previous studies assessing countries climate ambition share a feature that rewards high emitters at the expense of the most vulnerable ones.” They propose a fairer method of calculating, that influences climate change mitigations globally. As negotiated climate targets are still insufficient, this work underscores the growing role of courts in ensuring that climate and human rights obligations are met. The research, led by Yann Robiou du Pont, was published on 3 September in Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications

Global methane levels continue rising as planet heats up

University of Birmingham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Asia and the developing Pacific region are emerging as the largest contributors to global methane emissions, driven by rapid industrialisation and population growth.

Journal: Nature Communications

A ‘wasteful’ plant process makes a key prenatal vitamin. Climate change may reduce it.

Michigan State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research from Michigan State University reveals that photorespiration – long considered a wasteful process – is essential for producing a crucial nutrient for preventing birth defects.

For the first time, scientists have measured how much carbon flows through photorespiration to make folates, a class of compounds that includes vitamin B9 – known for its importance as a prenatal vitamin. According to the study, led by MSU researcher Berkley Walker, about 6 percent of the carbon absorbed by plants is used to make folates. That number plummets by fivefold when photorespiration is suppressed.

These findings, published in Nature Plants, could help scientists engineer plants to boost production of the nutrient important for human health. They also shed light on how a high-carbon dioxide world caused by climate change could make plants less nutritious.

Journal: Nature Plants
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation

From waste to value: Copper-catalyzed method converts CO₂ into high-value polymers under mild conditions

Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team from Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory introduced a new, eco-friendly method to transform carbon dioxide (CO₂, a major greenhouse gas) into useful high-performance plastics using a simple copper-based catalyst. Conducted under mild conditions at room temperature and ambient pressure, this process efficiently incorporates CO₂ into polymer materials that can be used in packaging, sensors, biomedical devices and more. The developed polymers are highly soluble, customizable, and can be quickly modified to create multifunctional materials. This innovative approach not only offers a sustainable way to recycle CO₂ but also opens new possibilities for producing advanced materials that support environmentally friendly manufacturing and help combat climate change.

Journal: Materials Futures

Desert soils emit greenhouse gases in minutes — even without live microbes

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A groundbreaking study from researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reveals that desert soils can emit powerful greenhouse gases within minutes of being wetted—even in the absence of microbial life.

Journal: Scientific Reports
Funder: Israel Science Foundation, Israel Ministry of Science, Technology and Space

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