Europe is experiencing longer and more intense transmission seasons for mosquito-borne diseases, including WNV infection and chikungunya virus disease. This shift is driven by climatic and environmental factors such as rising temperatures, longer summer seasons, milder winters and changes in rainfall patterns — conditions that combine to create a favourable environment for mosquitoes to thrive and transmit viruses.

A team of economists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Madhu Khanna and Gal Hochman), the University of California-Berkeley (David Zilberman) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Jeffrey O’Hara), including Michigan State University environmental scientist Bruno Basso, came together to propose a groundbreaking “climate-smart” biofuel policy that could revolutionize the agricultural sector’s role in mitigating climate change and improving ecosystems services.

The goals of those developing AI systems for the climate and those working on the front lines of climate advocacy don’t necessarily align. To compare the two groups, UW researchers interviewed nine people who are developing AI for sustainability and 10 climate advocates.

 

In just a few decades, the climate in many of the world’s forests will be so changed that many trees will have difficulty surviving. For example, in wide parts of lowland Central Europe, there is a risk that species such as European beech and Norway spruce will be squeezed out, according to new research from Aarhus University.

Greenhouse gas emissions, black carbon and other human activities are responsible for 70% of these changes.

A recent study published in National Science Review has revealed forests modulate biogenic secondary organic aerosol cooling effects through biogeophysical processes—but direction depends critically on local climate. Where dark canopies dominate, reforestation typically amplifies cooling by warming surfaces and boosting natural aerosol formation. Yet where enhanced airflow creates more clouds, it often suppresses cooling by reducing sunlight and biogenic emissions. This hidden "lever" creates striking regional contrasts, proving that identical forest cover can produce opposite aerosol-mediated climate outcomes. The findings demand location-specific reforestation plans to maximize climate benefits.