The rise in global mean sea level (GMSL) is a critical indicator of climate change. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) researchers have utilised advanced space geodetic technologies to deliver the first precise 30-year (1993-2022) record of global ocean mass change (also known as barystatic sea level), revealing its dominant role in driving GMSL rise. Their research further indicates that GMSL has been increasing at an average rate of approximately 3.3 mm per year with a notable acceleration observed, highlighting the growing severity of climate change. The research findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

There are many examples of options to tackle various global challenges that have been implemented in ways that only consider the impact on the challenge they are meant to address. Because of this narrow way of thinking, we are missing out on potential synergies that would help us to deliver to multiple challenges simultaneously. Designing options from the outset to co-deliver to multiple challenges would improve efficiency and reduce total cost. It is vital that we progress beyond narrow ways of thinking, and to adopt a “nexus” approach to tackling global challenges.

The natural phenomenon of upwelling, which occurs annually in the Gulf of Panama, failed for the first time on record in 2025. A study led by scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) indicates that the weakening of the trade winds was the cause of this event. This finding highlights the climate’s impact on fundamental oceanic processes and the coastal communities that depend on them

Scientists from an International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) working group have called for new research to enhance habitat protection for juvenile fish species. Experts from the ICES' Working Group on the Value of Coastal Habitats for Exploited Species (WGVHES), led by Dr Benjamin Ciotti from the University of Plymouth (UK), undertook a comprehensive review to evaluate the approaches being used to assess juvenile habitat quality. Their resulting study highlights a major gap in the evidence needed to evaluate habitat quality which is in turn leading to a mismatch between policy needs and available science, with management decisions often relying on incomplete or indirect indicators.