In a paper published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences, a team of researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of historical changes in the frequency and spatial extent of hot droughts at multiple timescales across global land areas, as well as anthropogenic influences on these changes. They also showed that hot droughts at different timescales are projected to increase in the future. Findings of this study can be useful for developing adaptation strategies to cope with threats from extremes in a warmer future.

With only five years until the 2030 deadline for achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new international study reveals uneven progress in achieving the goals since their adoption in 2015. The paper, recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals that global progress on numerous SDGs with high initial benchmarks has either stalled or gone into reverse. In contrast, SDG indicators with lower baseline performance continue to register gains. Researchers caution that the vast majority of countries will fail to meet their 2030 SDG targets under current trends.

A research team led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) scholars has discovered a significant slowdown in Arctic sea ice melting since 2012, with the decrease rate of 11.3% per decade to an insignificant downward trend of only −0.4% per decade. This phenomenon is closely related to a shift in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) pattern, from a negative phase to its positive phase, which traps cold air within the Arctic region. It is projected to peak between 2030 and 2040, after which the Arctic could enter a new phase of accelerated ice melt. Without reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, this may trigger severe climate and environmental crises within decades.