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The impact of climate change on the Earth's environments has been widely discussed, although there is still little consensus on the degree of influence, and to what extent the effects are positive, negative or neutral. Predicting the impacts of climate change on organisms and their response to this process has been a growing challenge for ecologists in recent years. In this review, we surveyed the published research on the relationship between lizards and global climate change. We surveyed the keywords "climate change" and "warming", combined with "lizard*" (there is, all words with this prefix), in three reference databases. We identified 401 relevant papers, and analyzed in further detail the group of studies (59 papers, 14.7% of the total) that developed thermoregulatory models to predict the persistence of lizards in a scenario of global warming. These 59 papers focused on species of 13 lizard families found on five continents. Overall, 62.5% of the papers that predicted the impacts of climate change on lizards indicated negative effects, while 21.9% reported positive effects, and 15.6%, a neutral scenario. The lizards identified as the most vulnerable to warming were tropical, viviparous, and thermoconformers, whereas species adapted to cooler climates would be the most likely to benefit from warming. On a broader scale, however, this scenario would lead to competition between lowland and highland lizards, for example, for thermally favorable areas. We conclude that it will be important to develop more detailed models that contemplate the specific features of each group for the development of more reliable predictions, in addition to the need for social conservation projects and the systematic identification of priority areas for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serious consequences of climate warming have increasingly become a globe agenda in recent decades. China has been actively participating in various initiatives to address global climate change and has made commitments to reduce carbon emissions. Although the logistics industry is regarded as the "new driving force of national economic development", its carbon intensity is relatively high. Therefore, whether the logistics industry can develop in a green and low-carbon way is very crucial. This paper takes the green logistics efficiency of China's provincial logistics industry as the research object. The Super-SBM model is used to measure the China's green logistics efficiency, then the general dynamic characteristics is depicted by kernel density analysis. With the GML (Global Malmquist-Luenberger) index model, the reasons for the changes in green logistics efficiency are explained. Finally, Moran's I index is used to analyze the spatial correlation of green logistics efficiency in each province. The results show that the green logistics efficiency in China is at a low level, but with an upward trend. China's green logistics efficiency has a significant positive spatial correlation, showing a zonal pattern of high in the east and low in the west, and a polarization phenomenon. In addition, the bottleneck of the overall development of green logistics efficiency in China depends on the level of green technology. Furthermore, the results also imply that green technology advancement is an inherent key factor for green logistics efficiency to achieve growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early studies, northern vegetation response to global warming recognised both increases in biomass/cover and shrinking of species' distributional ranges. Subsequent field measurements focussed on vegetation cover and biomass increases ("greening"), and more recently decreases ("browning"). However, satellite observations show that more than 50% of arctic vegetation has not changed significantly despite rapid warming. While absence of change in remote sensing data does not necessarily mean no ecological change on the ground, the significant proportion of the Arctic that appears to be stable in the face of considerable climate change points to a greater need to understand Arctic ecosystem stability. In this paper, we performed an extensive review of the available literature to seek balances or imbalances between research focussing on "greening", "browning" and "stability/no change". We find that greening studies dominate the literature though two relatively small areas of the Arctic are disproportionately represented for this main change process. Critically, there are too few studies anywhere investigating stability. We highlight the need to understand the mechanisms driving Arctic ecosystem stability, and the potential longer-term consequences of remaining stable in a rapidly changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 Paris Agreement has set out the climate change target of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, which poses a serious challenge to countries to reduce emissions. As the world's largest carbon emitter, promoting the realization of the "dual-carbon" goal is the key to realizing China's green transformation and high-quality development. Chinese asset managers play active roles in the capital market as an important channel of asset allocation. Currently, the vast majority of Chinese asset managers hold high percentages of high-carbon industries in their portfolios, and lack quantitative data of their carbon footprints embodied in equity investments, which faces huge carbon-related risks. Therefore, it's an urgent need to comprehensively and scientifically measure financed emissions of Chinese asset managers, which is of great significance for asset managers' carbon risk management and sustainable investment. This paper develops a detailed inventory of carbon emissions for equity portfolios managed by Chinese asset managers from 2010 to 2020, which stands as a pivotal reference for in-depth analysis of emission characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoring tree cover changes albedo, which is the fraction of sunlight reflected from the Earth's surface. In most locations, these changes in albedo offset or even negate the carbon removal benefits with the latter leading to global warming. Previous efforts to quantify the global climate mitigation benefit of restoring tree cover have not accounted robustly for albedo given a lack of spatially explicit data. Here we produce maps that show that carbon-only estimates may be up to 81% too high. While dryland and boreal settings have especially severe albedo offsets, it is possible to find places that provide net-positive climate mitigation benefits in all biomes. We further find that on-the-ground projects are concentrated in these more climate-positive locations, but that the majority still face at least a 20% albedo offset. Thus, strategically deploying restoration of tree cover for maximum climate benefit requires accounting for albedo change and we provide the tools to do so. Restoring tree cover is a prominent climate solution but can cause global warming due to changes in albedo. This paper maps albedo and carbon changes from restoring tree cover to highlight where the greatest net climate benefits can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a complex issue with significant scientific and socio-economic uncertainties, making it difficult to assess the effectiveness of climate policies. Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy Models (DICE models) have been widely used to evaluate the impact of different climate policies. However, since climate change, long-term economic development, and their interactions are highly uncertain, an accurate assessment of investments in climate change mitigation requires appropriate consideration of climatic and economic uncertainties. Moreover, the results of these models are highly dependent on input parameters and assumptions, which can have significant uncertainties. To accurately assess the impact of climate policies, it is crucial to incorporate uncertainties into these models. In this paper, we explore the impact of parameter uncertainties on the evaluation of climate policies using DICE models. Our goal is to understand whether uncertainty significantly affects decision-making, particularly in global warming policy decisions. By integrating climatic and economic uncertainties into the DICE model, we seek to identify the cumulative impact of uncertainty on climate change. Overall, this paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the challenges associated with evaluating climate policies using DICE models, and to inform the development of more effective policy measures to address the urgent challenge of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ensure that public infrastructure can safely provide essential services and support economic activities in seasonal frost regions, the design of their foundation systems must be updated and/or adapted to the impacts of climate change. This objective can only be achieved, if the impact of global warming on the soil thermal behaviour in Canadian seasonal frost regions is well-known and can be predicted. In the present paper, the results of a modeling study to assess and predict the effect of global warming on the thermal regimes of grounds in three Canadian seasonal frost regions (Ottawa, Sudbury, Toronto) are presented and discussed. The results show that future climate changes will significantly affect the soil thermal regimes in seasonal frost Canadian areas. The simulation results indicated a gradual loss in the frost penetration depth due to the climate change, in the three representative sites. The frost period duration will be shorter due to climate change in the three selected regions and will completely disappear in Ottawa and Toronto. However, the impact of climate change would not appear clearly in the first 40 years "up to 2060". The response of the ground to the effect of climate change is a function of the geotechnical characteristics of the ground and the climate conditions. The numerical tool developed and results obtained will be useful for the geotechnical design of climate-adaptive transportation structures in Canadian seasonal frost areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming and climate change represent current threats for island states in the Pacific Ocean region. Next to global warming and the effects of Sea Level Rise, the resulting vulnerability of coastal offshore, shoreline, and oceanic ecosystems are additional factors that need to be considered urgently. As a coastal atoll area and part of the Pacific Small Island States, Tuvalu is now under threat with its cultural landscapes due to climate change impacts. The country and its landscapes surround an area of only 26 km2, where 11,810 people live in hostile climatic conditions. The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change projected that Tuvalu would probably be the first country to sink underwater. The question arises about sustainable solutions for ongoing security and a habitable situation for people, culture, landscapes, and ecosystems. Unstable agricultural crop production, fishing, and coconuts cultivation are some of the challenges on the island. The exemplary derived polynomial curve of nine different islands and their islands' population displacement behavior shows up results of hostile conditions with six islands having lost their inhabitants, and only three islands' populations have increased. This study aims to analyze the overall situation of Tuvalu and find an alternative solution to safeguard Tuvaluan people, the island ecosystems and heritage, and cultural landscapes. Specific objectives of this study are the following: (1.) Understanding the theoretical concept of climate change impacts, sea-level rise impacts, the protection of Tuvaluan people, and the islands' unique biodiversity; (2.) Analyzing the socio-economic condition, livelihoods, culture, heritage, and environmental scenarios of Tuvalu; (3.) Giving potential recommendations for creating an international network, applied research, and training for the future development of ecosystems and cultural landscapes of Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean. This paper analyzed the present affected situation of Tuvalu; it also highlighted socio-economic and livelihoods sustainability, future scenarios, and alternative suggestion to mitigate this hostile environment of Tuvalu. GIS applications for visualizing and analyzing environmental data were one of the appropriate tools for decision-makers to support long-term planning for Tuvalu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AI chatbots such as ChatGPT help people produce texts. According to media reporting, these texts are also used for educational purposes. Thus, AI influences people's knowledge and perception of current issues. This paper examines the narrative of ChatGPT's stories on climate change. Our explorative analysis reveals that ChatGPT's stories on climate change show a relatively uniform structure and similar content. Generally, the narrative is in line with scientific knowledge on climate change; the stories convey no significant misinformation. However, specific topics in current debates on global warming are conspicuously missing. According to the ChatGPT narrative, humans as a species are responsible for climate change and specific economic activities or actors associated with carbon emissions play no role. Analogously, the social structuration of vulnerability to climate impacts and issues of climate justice are hardly addressed. ChatGPT's narrative consists of de-politicized stories that are highly optimistic about technological progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological environment is the essential material basis of human survival and connects regional economy with socially sustainable development. However, climate changes characterized by global climate warming have caused a series of ecological environmental problems in recent years. Few studies have discussed various climate factors affecting the ecological environment, and the spatial non-stationary effects of different climate factors on the ecological environment are still unclear. Dynamically monitoring ecological environment changes in fragile areas and identifying its climate-driving mechanism are essential for ecological protection and environmental repair. Taking Zoige Plateau as a case, this paper simulated the eco-environmental quality during 1987–2020 using remote sensing data, utilized Geodetector method to identify the contributions of various climate drivers to ecological environment quality, and then adopted the Geographically Weighted Regression model to explore the spatial non-stationary impacts of climate factors on ecological environment quality. The results showed that the ecological quality in the middle regions of the Zoige Plateau was slightly better than in the surrounding marginal areas. For the whole area of Zoige Plateau, the average ecological environment quality index was 54.92, 53.99, 56.17, 57.88, 63.44, 56.93, 59.43, and 59.76 in 1987, 1992, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2013, 2016 and 2020, respectively, which indicated that eco-environmental quality witnessed several fluctuations during the study period but showed a generally increasing trend. Among five climate factors, the temperature was the dominant climate factor affecting the ecological environment quality (q value: 0.11–0.19), sunshine duration (0.03–0.17), wind speed (0.03–0.11), and precipitation (0.03–0.08) were the main climate drivers, while the explanatory power of relative humidity to ecological environment quality was relatively small. Such various climate factors impacting the ecological environment quality demonstrated distinct spatial non-stationary and the range of driving impact varied with time. Temperature, sunshine duration, wind speed, and relative humidity promoted ecological environment quality in most regions (regression coefficients > 0), while precipitation mainly had a negative inhibitory impact (regression coefficients < 0). Meanwhile, the greater impacts of these five climate factors were concentrated in high-elevation regions of the south and west or the northern areas. The appropriate enhancement of climate warming and air humidity was beneficial to the improvement of the ecological environment, but the excessive precipitation would result in landslides and exhibit inhibition of vegetation growth. Therefore, selecting cold-tolerant herbs and shrubs, and strengthening climate monitoring and early warning systems (such as drought and excessive precipitation) are essential for ecological restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic is rapidly warming posing a significant threat to underlying permafrost. Permafrost degradation has already resulted in extensive damage to the Arctic's built infrastructure, putting communities and industries at risk. Projected climate warming will further reduce the capacity of permafrost to support infrastructure, thereby requiring a rethinking of construction and development of permafrost regions in the future. This paper focuses on three Arctic regions with a substantial presence of population and infrastructure on permafrost: USA (Alaska), Canada, and Russia. The three regions' permafrost construction practices are examined in order to identify best practices and major gaps. We identify a lack of standardized, codified construction guidelines; an absence of permafrost-geotechnical monitoring in communities; barriers to integrating climate scenarios into future planning; limited data sharing; and low numbers of permafrost professionals as major constraints limiting the region's resilience in the face of climate change. Refining building practices and standards, implementing operational permafrost monitoring systems, developing downscaled climate projections, and integrating local knowledge will minimize the impacts of permafrost degradation under rapidly warming climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the ongoing United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, it seems important to focus attention not only on global mean surface air temperature (GSMT) but also on the climate of specific regions in order to gain insights into the dynamics of the changes, the timescales of the periodic components, the local trends and the relationships between climatic variables in the region of interest. This is important for scientists as well as for policymakers. This paper provides an analysis of the changes in local air temperature and precipitation depth in exceptionally long observational records and examines the relationships between these two variables. The focus is on monthly values. Temperature maximum, minimum, range, and cumulative precipitation depth are considered. The wavelet analysis shows that the scale of variation is different for temperature and precipitation and that the behavior of the temperature range values diverges from the behavior of the minimum and maximum values. The timescale of important changes in the long-term trend is, however, similar. Results also suggest that the main mode of variability is persistent through time in the series of temperature maximum, minimum, and range but not in precipitation depth. This is a clear evidence of climate change. All series show variances that change over time and are, as expected, nonstationary. The analysis of the wavelet coherence shows that the relationship between precipitation and temperature evolves through time, and its intensity varies considering different time scales. The association between these climatic variables is particularly strong in the last decade. Is it noteworthy that the analysis of the coherence suggests that temperature is leading to rain and not the other way around. This highlights the impact of global warming on the hydrologic cycle and on related human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a critical issue of our time, and its causes, pathways, and forecasts remain a topic of broader discussion. In this paper, we present a novel data driven pathway analysis framework to identify the key processes behind mean global temperature and sea level rise, and to forecast the magnitude of their increase from the present to 2100. Based on historical data and dynamic statistical modeling alone, we have established the causal pathways that connect increasing greenhouse gas emissions to increasing global mean temperature and sea level, with its intermediate links encompassing humidity, sea ice coverage, and glacier mass, but not for sunspot numbers. Our results indicate that if no action is taken to curb anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, the global average temperature would rise to an estimated 3.28 °C (2.46–4.10 °C) above its pre-industrial level while the global sea level would be an estimated 573 mm (474–671 mm) above its 2021 mean by 2100. However, if countries adhere to the greenhouse gas emission regulations outlined in the 2021 United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), the rise in global temperature would lessen to an average increase of 1.88 °C (1.43–2.33 °C) above its pre-industrial level, albeit still higher than the targeted 1.5 °C, while the sea level increase would reduce to 449 mm (389–509 mm) above its 2021 mean by 2100. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleontological studies of the distant past and historical chronicles of the last millennia indicate that warming and cooling of the climate on our planet, replacing each other, have taken place in a continuous series. An important role in this process has been and is played by cosmic factors: variations in solar activity and parameters of the Earth's orbital motion in the gravitational field of the Sun and the planets of the Solar System. It is suggested that the currently observed climate change is associated with a decrease in the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit and the inclination of the axis of its rotation relative to the plane of the ecliptic, which has been going on for almost 30 thousand years. Both processes lead to changes in the boundaries of climatic zones. In the foreseeable future, these processes will proceed in the same direction. Therefore, the current trend towards climate change will continue. Despite the importance of addressing the problem of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions as soon as possible, this paper expresses doubts about the possibility of fending off climate warming in this way. It is proposed to focus on the development of mathematical climate models taking into account space factors and on finding the best ways to adapt industry, transport systems, and the environment to the conditions of expected climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many regions around the world are facing climate changes, with substantial increase in air temperature over the past decades, which is mainly related to continental and global warming forced by the higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The objectives of this study were to use the Köppen climate classification to detect local climate change based on a historical series of 100 years and to assess if such change is related to those that are occurring in other spatial scales as a likely consequence of increasing GHG. This paper brings a content full of innovative results. The study area presented an average annual air temperature increase by 0.9 °C between 1917 and 2016, rising from 21.4 °C for the first climatological normal (1917–1946) to 22.3 °C for the last one (1987–2016). Furthermore, in the summer months, the temperature rose from 24.5 to 25.3 °C, and in the winter months, such increase was from 17.1 (1917–1946) to 18.3 °C (1987–2016). Our findings showed the subtropical conditions (Cfa in Köppen's classification) in the study area persisted from the beginning of the analysis (1917–1946) until the climatological normal of 1979–2008, with a clear tendency of tropicalization after that with a change in the climate type of Piracicaba from subtropical to tropical, which can now be classified as tropical with dry winter (Aw climate type). The local average air temperature showed concordances with the long-term air temperature anomalies from regional, continental, and global scales, indicating that all of them may be linked with increasing GHG emissions, since well-defined long-term linear relationships (r2 = 0.99) were observed between continental and global average air temperature anomalies and atmospheric CO2 concentration observed at the NOAA Lab in Mauna Loa in the last 59 years. While the local and regional forcing effects remain to be fully unraveled, our study provided a valid and strong scientific sound evidence that climate change occurred in Piracicaba, southeastern Brazil, in the last 100 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X23070188 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 50 years, temperatures on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) have risen roughly twice as fast as the global average, making it the most unpredictable region of environmental change due to global warming. In this paper, an Environmental Area Index model was developed using data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project to assess the ecological risk faced by QTP ecosystems under the influence of climate factors. The results show that ecological risk gradually decreases from northwest to the southeast, and there are different trends in ecological risk for each class in areas with different elevation gradients. As elevation increased, the proportion of potential risk areas gradually decreased, and the proportion of high- and higher-risk areas gradually increased. We predict that in the period 2021–2100, the overall ecological risk change trend on the QTP will not be obvious, but there will be a more obvious change on the vertical gradient. In general, under the existing global climate change scenario, the ecological risk faced by the QTP show a decreasing trend under the influence of climate factors, and the decrease in ecological risks is much higher at higher elevations than at lower elevations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air temperature is the main climatic variable for climate change and global warming assessment. In different regions, different climatic features and forcing factors affect air temperature behaviour and development differently. In this paper, time series of monthly and annual absolute minimum, mean and absolute maximum air temperatures measured in the period Jan. 1949–Dec. 2018 at two meteorological stations, Zagreb Grič and Lastovo, were analysed. The stations are situated in distinct climatological areas in geographically and climatologically completely opposite parts of Croatia. The climate of Zagreb Grič station is mild continental. Station Lastovo is located on the small isolated Adriatic Sea island, which has a hot Mediterranean climate. The distance by air between the two analysed meteorological stations is 340 km. In time series of the absolute annual minimum air temperatures measured at both analysed stations, an increasing trend is not statistically significant, while in the time series of mean annual and absolute annual maximum air temperatures, the trends are statistically significant at the level p<0.01. The statistically significant trend of air temperature increase at both stations appeared in the warm season of the year generally from May to August. The day-to-day (DTD) method established a decrease in night-time to night-time air temperature variability, and an increase in the day-time to day-time temperature variability at Lastovo. In Zagreb Grič, the situation is the opposite but the process is very slow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate is an effective factor in the ecological structure which plays an important role in control and outbreak of the diseases caused by biological factors like malaria. With regard to the occurring climatic change, this study aimed to review the effects of climate change on malaria in Iran. In this systematic review, Cochrane, PubMed and ScienceDirect (as international databases), SID and Magiran as Persian databases were investigated through MESH keywords including climate change, global warming, malaria, Anopheles, and Iran. The related articles were screened and finally their results were extracted using data extraction sheets. Totally 41 papers were resulted through databases searching process. Finally 14 papers which met inclusion criteria were included in data extraction stage. The findings indicated that Anopheles mosquitoes are present at least in 115 places in Iran; they are compatible with climatic zones of Iran. Malaria and it’s vectors are affected by climate change. Temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, wind intensity and direction are the most important climatic factors affecting the growth and proliferation of Anopheles, Plasmodium and the prevalence of malaria. The transmission of malaria in Iran is associated with the climatic factors of temperature, rainfall, and humidity. Therefore, with regard to the occurring climatic change, the incidence of the disease may also change which needs to be taken into consideration while planning of malaria control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaption for temperature should be suitable to local conditions for regional differences in temperature change features. This paper proposed to utilize nine temperature modes that joint the trend (increasing/decreasing/unchanged) with variability (intensifying/weakening/unchanged) to investigate features of temperature change in mainland China. Monthly temperature data over the period 1960-2013 were obtained from 522 national basic and reference meteorological stations. Here, temperature trend (TT) was reflected by the trend of mean annual temperature (MAT) and the uptrend (downtrend) of inter-monthly sliding standard deviation (SSD) series with a sliding length of 29 years (348 months) was used for representing the intensification (weakening) of temperature variability (TV). The Mann-Kendall method and the least squares method were applied to assess the significance and quantify the magnitude of trend in MAT and SSD time series, respectively. The results show that there is a consistent warming trend throughout the country except for only three stations in which a cooling trend is identified. Moreover, the overall increasing rate in the north of 35° N is the highest, over 0.4 °C/decade for most stations. TV is weakened for almost 98% of the stations, indicating the low instability of temperature at a national scale. Finally, temperature mode (TM), for more than 90% of the stations, is the combination of an increasing TT with a weakened TV (mode 8). So, it is more important for people to adapt to the increasing temperature in these regions. Compared to using annual temperature data to calculate SSD, monthly data can accurately reflect the inter-monthly change of temperature and reserve more initial characteristics of temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1 Goreau-Hayes Coral Reef Bleaching Hot Spot Map from the NOAA Coral Reef Watch Daily 5 km coral bleaching record (coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/product/5 km), Accessed September 26, 2020. Global warming triggers coral reef bleaching tipping point: This article belongs to Ambio's 50th Anniversary Collection. The sudden outbreak of mass coral reef bleaching around the world in the 1980s was unprecedented, the first natural ecosystem threat from global warming, and an urgent alarm call for concerted efforts to reverse global warming. There has been minimal progress towards enhancement of local reef management capacity in coral reef countries by documenting environmental history, understanding the causes of present changes, and preparing for future developments while coral reef science represents scientific tourism rather than local priorities. [Extracted from the article]

Biochar was recently included as a promising negative emissions technology (NET) in the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Unlike other NETs, it can potentially be used to mitigate global climate change while adding to local resilience in countries highly exposed and sensitive to impacts of climate change, such as least-developed countries (LDCs). The study is as an empirical contribution to the, as of yet, underdeveloped literature on deployment of negative emissions technologies in LDCs in general and on biochar use in developing countries and LDCs specifically. Nine historical and existing biochar projects in Tanzania are mapped in order to analyse problems, goals and common trade-offs associated with small- to medium-scale biochar production in LDCs. The mapping is based on a literature and document study, interviews with project actors, and on-site visits to biochar projects during 2019. The paper gives support to the observation made in the biochar literature that while biochar has many potential socio-economic and environmental benefits, combining them in one single project is difficult. It is concluded that implementing biochar projects in Tanzania will likely involve trade-offs between the development and subsistence strategies and needs of local communities, the motivational forces of different project participants, and the uneven regulatory capacity of the state. We end by reflecting on the use of biochar projects to offset carbon emissions made elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitigation and adaptation represent two solutions to the issue of global warming. While mitigation aims at reducing $$\hbox {CO}_2$$ emissions and preventing climate change, adaptation encompasses a broad scope of techniques used to reduce the impacts of climate change once they have occurred. Both have direct costs on a country's gross domestic product, but costs also arise from temperature increases due to inaction. This paper introduces a tipping point in a real options model and analyzes optimal investment choices in mitigation and their timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Characterizing the response of temperature variables to agricultural irrigation is expected to be an important challenge for understanding the full impact of water management on regional climate change. In this paper, the trend analysis and abrupt change test were applied to detect the global warming effect. Then, the quantitative irrigation-induced cooling effects on temperature variables between April and August from 1970 to 2010 in the Lhasa River basin were estimated using historical time series of gridded meteorological records and a map of the area equipped for irrigation. Trends in the maximum temperature (Tmax) were statistically positive, and a significant increasing trend for the minimum temperature (Tmin) was detected at the 0.01 and 0.05 confidence levels. No abrupt changing point of warming was detected in the time series for Tmax. The abrupt changes in Tmin in the irrigation concentration period took place in 1995, 5 years later than the corresponding change in April. Affected by global warming, the increase in temperature was the largest in July and August, when the irrigation-induced cooling effect was also the most significant. The irrigation-induced cooling effect for Tmax and Tmin in April–August (except for June) ranged from − 0.017 to − 0.009 °C/decade and from − 0.011 to − 0.001 °C/decade, respectively, and the cooling effect for diurnal temperature range (DTR) ranged from − 0.011 to 0 °C/decade. The cooling effect on temperature reached above 0.01 °C in July and August, but for the growing seasons, the effect was weak, only 0.001 °C. The Tmax and Tmin trends during the whole growing seasons decreased by both 0.002 °C/decade, respectively, with a 10% increase in irrigation land proportion. Even in July and August, the trends were expected to decrease by about 0.005 °C/decade with a 10% increase in irrigation land proportion. The irrigation-induced cooling effect could partially slow global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How farmers perceive climate change is linked to whether they are responding and adapting to it. However, often this perception does not correspond with what actually happens. Based on a search of empirical studies carried out in Africa and Asia, this paper analyzes two factors that can influence farmers' perception regarding climate change: expected utility maximization and availability heuristic. While expected utility maximization refers to an expected change in farmers' well-being, the availability heuristic is a mental shortcut based on the memory of occurrence of events. Generally, empirical studies show that farmers' perceptions are aligning with meteorological records regarding an increase in temperature. However, while there are no significant variations in rainfall trends, farmers perceive a reduction in rainfall in the last few years. The recent increase in drought frequency and severity may cause this divergence, because it affects farmers' well-being, and extreme droughts have a central position in peoples' memory. In this context, our findings suggest that farmers' perceptions are influenced by economic and psychological issues. Policymakers, extension workers and developers of climate projects need to pay attention to farm and farmers' characteristics in order to develop mitigation and/or adaptation practices regarding climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Healthcare waste contributes substantially to the world's carbon footprint. Our aims are to review the current knowledge of Interventional Radiology (IR) waste generation and ways of reducing waste in practice, to quantify the environmental and financial impact of waste generated and address green initiatives to improve IR waste management. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in July 2022 using the Medline and Embase literature databases. The scope of the search included the field of IR as well as operating theatre literature, where relevant to IR practice. Results: One-hundred articles were reviewed and 68 studies met the inclusion criteria. Greening initiatives include reducing, reusing and recycling waste, as well as strict waste segregation. Interventional radiologists can engage with suppliers to reformulate procedure packs to minimize unnecessary items and packaging. Opened but unused equipment can be prevented if there is better communication within the team and increased staff awareness of wasted equipment cost. Incentives to use soon-to-expire equipment can be offered. Power consumption can be reduced by powering down operating room lights and workstations when not in use, changing to Light Emitting Diode (LED) and motion sensor lightings. Surgical hand wash can be replaced with alcohol-based hand rubs to reduce water usage. Common barriers to improving waste management include the lack of leadership, misconceptions regarding infectious risk, lack of data, concerns about increased workload, negative staff attitudes and resistance to change. Education remains a top priority to engage all staff in sustainable healthcare practices. Conclusion: Interventional radiologists have a crucial role to play in improving healthcare sustainability. By implementing small, iterative changes to our practice, financial savings, greater efficiency and improved environmental sustainability can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing uncertainty in the response of the Amazon rainforest, a vital component of the Earth system, to future climate change is crucial for refining climate projections. Here we demonstrate an emergent constraint (EC) on the future response of the Amazon carbon cycle to climate change across CMIP6 Earth system models. Models that overestimate past global warming trends, tend to estimate hotter and drier future Amazon conditions, driven by northward shifts of the intertropical convergence zone over the Atlantic Ocean, causing greater Amazon carbon loss. The proposed EC changes the mean CMIP6 Amazon climate-induced carbon loss estimate (excluding CO2 fertilisation and land-use change impacts) from −0.27 (−0.59–0.05) to −0.16 (−0.42–0.10) GtC year−1 at 4.4 °C warming level, reducing the variance by 34%. This study implies that climate-induced carbon loss in the Amazon rainforest by 2100 is less than thought and that past global temperature trends can be used to refine regional carbon cycle projections. A study shows an emergent constraint on the Amazon carbon cycle response to climate change. The CMIP6 ESMs that overestimate past global temperature trends, tend to project hotter, drier conditions and greater climate-induced Amazon carbon source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Case studies from global cities contribute to more focused analyses of global warming challenges and demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of mitigation and adaptation strategies to identify lessons about success at the city scale. The case studies were chosen to demonstrate aspects of the critical messages for action priorities in global warming mitigation and adaptation. This work focuses on best practices and initiatives for mitigation and adaptation approaches from developed and developing economies, including North American cities, European cities, Asian cities, and other global cities worldwide. The case studies were grouped to examine, identify, and emphasize important factors in various areas (e.g., local programs and alliances, governance, stakeholder engagement, community actions, and scientific research) that determined the success of adaptation strategies in various global cities. Many recent studies showcase mitigation approaches, particularly those relating to blue-green infrastructure and nature-based strategies. The case studies selected reflect vulnerable regions and demonstrate how increasing global warming significantly concerns individuals, societies, and their infrastructure. The selected studies include Amsterdam in Netherlands; Singapore, as a city in a garden; Boston in USA; Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan in India, aimed at implementing strategies with the objectives of climate adaptation planning; Copenhagen, as a coastal town, is more susceptible to flooding; Portland, the most progressive city in USA; Hamburg in Germany, one of the biggest harbours in Europe; and the 'Rain City Strategy', in Vancouver, Canada. Not all global cities respond the same way, but undertaking joint complex efforts helps mitigate the impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary driver of deep-ocean mixing is breaking of internal tides generated via interactions of barotropic tides with topography. It is important to understand how the energy conversion from barotropic to internal tides responds to global warming. Here we address this question by applying a linear model of internal tide generation to coupled global climate model simulations under a high carbon emission scenario. The energy conversion to high-mode internal tides is projected to rise by about 8% by the end of the 21st century, whereas the energy conversion to low-mode internal tides remains nearly unchanged. The intensified near-bottom stratification under global warming increases energy conversion into both low and high-mode internal tides. In contrast, the intensified depth-averaged stratification reduces the modal horizontal wavenumber of internal tides, leading to increased (decreased) energy conversion into high (low)- mode internal tides. Our findings imply stronger mixing over rough topography under global warming, which should be properly parameterized in climate models for more accurate projections of future climate changes. The authors use a linear model of internal tide generation and an ensemble of coupled global climate model simulations under a high emission scenario, and find a significant enhancement of energy conversion to high-mode internal tides by the end of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different geographical zones have regional heterogeneity in underlying earth surface structure and microclimate which result in different evolution trends and their response to climate change varies in extreme rainfalls in these zones. In the Guizhou province of China, there are complex landforms, which lead to spatial redistribution of rainfall, frequent extreme rainfall, and disasters high risk of geologic disasters. Research on extreme climate in Guizhou mostly paid attention to its spatio-temporal characteristics and modeling, but lack of analysis on its characteristics of extreme rainfall variability and response to temperature changes under different subsurface conditions. This study investigated the characteristics of the extreme rainfall spatiotemporal and recurrence periods in Guizhou province and discussed the relationship between the response of extreme rainfall to temperature change. Daily rainfall data from 1990 to 2020 and 2021–2100 at 31 meteorological observation stations throughout the province were collected to calculate extreme precipitation. This research had the following results. (1) Both historical and future periods show an upward trend in extreme rainfall in Guizhou province, with a spatial distribution pattern of "high in the south and low in the north, high in the east and low in the west" and "high in the southeast and low in the northwest", respectively; the spatial distribution of extreme rainfall under each recurrence period is consistent with the non-recurrence period. (2) Both historical and future periods show an upward trend in temperature in Guizhou province, with a spatial distribution consistent with that of the extreme rainfall in the corresponding period. (3) The change in extreme rainfall intensity with increasing temperature is almost always greater than the C–C rate for different periods and underlying earth surface structure; Extreme rainfall has a Hook response structure to temperature change, and the climate response structure shifts to the right with climate warming. The results of the study can provide a basis for decision-making on regional disaster prevention and mitigation in the context of temperature change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is predicted to impact high-latitude and high-altitude forests severely, jeopardizing their overall functioning and carbon storage, both of which depend on the warming response of tree fine root systems. This paper investigates the effect of soil warming on the biomass, morphology and colonizing ectomycorrhizal community of spruce fine and absorptive fine roots. We compare the responses of spruce roots growing at a man-made long-term soil warming (+ 4°C) experiment to results obtained from a geothermal soil temperature gradient (+ 1 to + 14°C) extending to the forest die-off edge, to shed light on the generalizability of the warming response and reveal any thresholds in acclimation ability. Trees in warmer soils formed longer and less-branched absorptive roots with higher specific root length and area, and lower root tissue density in both spruce stands, irrespective of warming method and location. Soil warming at the experimental warming site also supported the occurrence of a more varied EcM community and an increase in the abundance of Tomentella spp., indicating a shift in nutrient foraging. Fine and absorptive fine root biomass decreased toward warmer soil, with a sharp reduction occurring between + 4 and + 6°C from the ambient and leading to the collapse of the fine root system at the geothermal gradient. At the experimental warming site, the applied + 4°C warming had no effect on fine and absorptive fine root biomass. The similar fine root responses at the two warming sites suggest that the observations possibly reflect general acclimation patterns in spruce forests to global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Professor Gerald North on current condition of climate change science and another on the truth state of learning on global warming.

Summer precipitation anomalies over eastern China are characterized spatially by meridionally banded structures fluctuating on interannual and interdecadal timescales, leading to regional droughts and floods. In addition to long-term trends, how these patterns may change under global warming has important implications for agricultural planning and water resources over this densely populated area. Using the latest Hadley Centre climate model, HadGEM3-GC2, this paper investigates the potential response of summer precipitation patterns over this region, by comparing the leading modes between a 4×CO2 simulation and the model’s pre-industrial control simulation. Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analyses show that the first two leading modes account for about 20% of summer rainfall variability. EOF1 is a monopole mode associated with the developing phase of ENSO events and EOF2 is a dipole mode associated with the decaying phase of ENSO. Under 4×CO2 forcing, the dipole mode with a south-north orientation becomes dominant because of a strengthened influence from excessive warming of the Indian Ocean. On interdecadal time scales, the first EOF looks very different from the control simulation, showing a dipole mode of east-west contrast with enhanced influence from high latitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on changes in the dates of the beginning, end, and duration of the stable cold and warm seasons in Russia in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. For 2001-2015, the duration of the cold period was significantly reduced by 30 days almost throughout the country. In the eastern European part of Russia, Southern Urals, these changes were caused by a later beginning of the winter; on the remaining territory, this happened because of the date shifting for both the beginning and the end of the stable cold season. The duration of the warm period increases everywhere due to the earlier end of the spring, except for south of the European part of Russia, Southern Yakutia, and the northern part of Western Siberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, climate change as a consequence of global warming, has garnered significant attention. Therefore, serious measures must be considered in the development planning process to adapt to and reduce effects of climate change. This research evaluates six development plans in Isfahan, Iran in the face of climate change effects using a framework consisting of three components of the analytical Awareness-Analysis-Action (A-A-A) approach and using quantitative and qualitative content analysis methods. In fact, the evaluation of the level of attention of the development plans from the perspective of the level of reflection and attention to raising awareness about the issues of climate change, the ability to analyze the available climate information in a useful way to support planning decisions and the level of special actions to deal with these changes. Finally, out of the three elements of the approach, the highest amount of attention in the plans is related to the element of action with 67/70% and the lowest is related to the element of awareness with 39/10%. The overall evaluation of the development plans shows that their role in integrating climate change issues into urban planning in Iran is still limited and insufficient. On the other hand, air pollution and climate change are closely related, as chemicals that cause air quality deterioration often enter together with greenhouse gases. Therefore, it can be said that although indicators of the transportation dimension (A3-J) with 80.66%, resource management have been given special attention under the action component, but carbon sequestration dimension (A2-F) with 14.63%, under the analysis component that seeks to evaluate the amount of air pollutants, classification of the type and sources of emission of pollutants could not reflect more than half of the total percentage in all development plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with global climate change, local elites are confronted with the main dilemma of a developing country: development requires economic growth, but this effort also requires consideration of environmental factors and sustainable patterns of production and consumption. Based on empirical evidence from qualitative research on businesses and political elites in Chile-a paradigmatic South American middle-income country-this paper explores the extent to which local elites are aware of the severity of challenges posed by global climate change and identify main climate change concerns in their discourse. The degree to which domestic elites are aware of the paradigm shift they must assume toward clean industrial production is a key issue of environmental governance that involves private non-governmental actors. This paper gives clues to a better understanding of what is happening with strategic actors in developing nations and their understanding of their decision-making capacity concerning environmental policy and investments for facing global climate change. The main conclusion of the research is that awareness of climate change in local elites' discourse is relative. It is not accompanied by a full acceptance of their agency and is not leading to a paradigm shift toward a clean model of development because of domestic elites' position within globalization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is now recognized as a significant threat to sustainable development on an international scale. One of the key challenges in mounting a global response to it is the seeming unwillingness of the fastest growing economies such as China and India to sign a treaty that limits their emissions. The aim of this paper is to examine the differential incentives of countries on different trajectories of capital growth. A benchmark dynamic game to study global warming, introduced in Dutta and Radner (J Econ Behav Organ, ), is generalized to allow for exogenous capital accumulation. It is shown that the presence of capital exacerbates the 'tragedy of the common'. Furthermore, even with high discount factors, the threat of reverting to the inefficient 'tragedy' equilibrium is not sufficient to deter the emissions growth of the fastest growing economies-in contrast to standard folk theorem like results. However, foreign aid can help. If the slower growth economies-like the United States and Western Europe-are willing to make transfers to China and India, then the latter can be incentivized to cut emissions. Such an outcome is Pareto improving for both slower and faster growth economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In evaluating international treaties, in particular, the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention, this paper shows that necessary preparations have not been made to protect the rights of individuals who are refugees or have been forced to migrate from their homeland. Immigrants are deprived of the most essential human rights, such as language, culture, and having a right to a healthy living environment. The current legal administration has not made the necessary contingencies for responding to the environmental consequences of immigration and is extremely inefficient in expanding this phenomenon. This paper seeks to address the question of to what extent existing forms of legal and operational protection can apply in climate change-related displacement in general and cross-border displacement in particular. In this work some strategies have been proposed for dealing with these existing gaps. It is expected that analyzing these gaps and determining the international community's duties and commitments (governments and international organizations) can result in efficient management of this crisis and prevent the outbreak of chaos across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes seasonal peculiarities of modern climate warming in the European region. It is shown that warming scenarios considerably differ in cold and warm periods of the year. The warming is accompanied with growth and considerable change in the phase of the yearly cycle in solarity data. A strong half-year cycle is recognized in seasonal variation of long-term trends over the last few years. Peculiarities of climate change in Europe and the increased influence of the tropics are discussed in view of the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I review methodologies to assess strategies of greenhouse gas emissions reduction by installing existing technologies and by investing in research and development of advanced technologies, expressed as 'greenhouse insurance' by Manne and Richels (Buying greenhouse insurance: the economic costs of CO emissionlimits. The MIT Press, Cambridge, 1992), under several sorts of uncertainty. While the authors of some advanced studies have applied exogenous and endogenous stochastic processes to deal with the uncertainty in their mathematical models on the economic assessment of climate change, this review points out some room for improving these approaches in ways that will result in more reasonable hedging strategies to cope with uncertain climate change, taking into account up-to-date research trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global Warming Potential (GWP) is an index used to measure the cumulative radiative forcing of a tonne of greenhouse house gas (GHG) relative to that of a ‘reference’ gas (CO2). Under the Kyoto Protocol, GWP can be used as a fixed index to govern the trade-off between different GHGs in a multi-gas approach to GHGs abatement. The use of fixed GWPs has been criticized for not being very cost effective compared to the use of some flexible indices. To gain wider acceptance, however, a flexible index must also prove to be easy to use, and the economic gains from its adoption must be significant. In this paper, we develop a flexible index based on the concept of marginal rather than cumulative or average global warming potentials. These marginal global warming potentials (MGWPs) can be endogenously determined within a climate model given a particular climate objective based on radiative forcing level. The MGPWs are then linked to the marginal abatement costs of the GHGs, which are also endogenously determined within an economic model. When the two concepts are linked in this way, the result is a cost-effective way of achieving a particular climate change objective with multigas abatement. We show that the savings in costs when using this flexible MGPWs can be significant, and more importantly, they are not uniformly distributed across different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comments on the issue of global warming and climate change, in an attempt to provide fresh perspective. Essentially, five main arguments are made. First, that the process of modern economic development has been based on the burning of fossil fuels, and that this will continue to apply for the foreseeable future. Second, that in large part due to momentum in economic and demographic processes, it is inevitable that there will be a major rise in atmospheric CO2 during the present century. Third, that available data on global temperatures suggest strongly that the coming warming will be appreciably faster than anything that humanity has experienced during historical times. Moreover, especially in a system that is being forced, the chance of an abrupt change in climate happening must be rated as fair. Fourth, that while it is impossible to attach precise probabilities to different scenarios, the range of plausible unpleasant climate outcomes seems at least as great as the range of more manageable ones. The consequences of future climate change may be considerable; indeed, they could be almost inconceivable—with several negative changes occurring simultaneously and to cumulative adverse effect. There is an urgent need to improve ways of thinking about what could happen. Fifth, the paper maintains that the human response to other difficult ‘long’ threats—such as that posed by HIV/AIDS—reveals a broadly analogous sequence of social reactions (e.g. denial, avoidance, recrimination) to that which is unfolding with respect to carbon emissions and climate change. Therefore the view expressed here is that major behavioral change to limit world carbon emissions is unlikely in the foreseeable future, and that the broad sway of future events is probably now set to run its course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares data from linearized and nonlinear Zebiak-Cane model, as constrained by observed sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA), in simulating central Pacific (CP) and eastern Pacific (EP) El Ni˜no. The difference between the temperature advections (determined by subtracting those of the linearized model from those of the nonlinear model), referred to here as the nonlinearly induced temperature advection change (NTA), is analyzed. The results demonstrate that the NTA records warming in the central equatorial Pacific during CP El Ni˜no and makes fewer contributions to the structural distinctions of the CP El Ni˜no, whereas it records warming in the eastern equatorial Pacific during EP El Ni˜no, and thus significantly promotes EP El Ni˜no during El Ni˜no-type selection. The NTA for CP and EP El Ni˜no varies in its amplitude, and is smaller in CP El Ni˜no than it is in EP El Ni˜no. These results demonstrate that CP El Ni˜no are weakly modulated by small intensities of NTA, and may be controlled by weak nonlinearity; whereas, EP El Ni˜no are significantly enhanced by large amplitudes of NTA, and are therefore likely to be modulated by relatively strong nonlinearity. These data could explain why CP El Ni˜no are weaker than EP El Ni˜no. Because the NTA for CP and EP El Ni˜no differs in spatial structures and intensities, as well as their roles within different El Ni˜no modes, the diversity of El Ni˜no may be closely related to changes in the nonlinear characteristics of the tropical Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is caused by rising carbon dioxide concentrations, while ecological and environmental issues are becoming increasingly evident. Many governments' main objective in addressing climate challenges is to achieve carbon balance. Exploring the distribution and changing trends of carbon balance can contribute to carbon balance strategies. This study takes the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as the study area, analyzing the spatial and temporal dynamic changes in carbon emissions and carbon sequestration in the YREB from 2000 to 2017. The county-level supply–demand ratios and accessibility are calculated based on the enhanced two-step floating catchment method according to the dynamic flow radius. According to our experimental results, carbon emissions can achieve different degrees of carbon balance according to the flow radius. After carbon emissions flow between counties within the province, some provinces can realize the transition from carbon surplus to carbon balance. With the expansion of the flow radius and the increase in internal mobility, more counties can participate in carbon sequestration, and some provinces can achieve carbon neutrality after carbon emissions transfer across provinces. Hubei, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Hunan and other provinces with special carbon sequestration capacity are very sensitive to changes in the radius of carbon emission flow. In 2017, when the carbon emission flow radius is 50 km, the net carbon emission of the flow can be reduced by 3%. If the radius is increased to 200 km, the YREB can achieve carbon balance. This study can provide decision-making information for carbon emission ecosystem management in the YREB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is swiftly reshaping marine ecosystems, affecting different biological levels. Changes in thermal conditions profoundly influence ectotherms' growth, behaviour, and functions, making knowledge of species' thermal preferences (TP) crucial for understanding their responses to ongoing warming. However, obtaining this data is challenging due to limited studies, especially for deep-sea demersal and bottom-dwelling species. Here, we present the MedFaunaTP dataset, a collection of survey-based TPs for 939 Mediterranean species of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms, cnidarians, and tunicates calculated using species abundance data obtained from the international bottom-trawl survey in the Mediterranean (MEDITS) and bottom temperature data derived from the Copernicus Monitoring Environment Marine Service. MEDITS estimates are based on species biomass indices from 27587 sampling stations, collected from 1994 to 2020, covering the northern Mediterranean Sea and spanning depths from 10 to 800 m. The MedFaunaTP dataset may serves as a valuable resource for understanding and addressing marine ecosystem ecological, conservation, and management challenges in the context of climate change and associated global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper tropospheric water vapor is a key component of Earth's climate. Understanding variations in upper tropospheric water vapor and identifying its influencing factors is crucial for enhancing our comprehension of global climate change. While many studies have shown the impact of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and global warming on water vapor, how they affect the upper tropospheric water vapor remains unclear. Long-term, high-precision ERA5 specific humidity data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) provided the data foundation for this study. On this basis, we successfully obtained the patterns of global warming (Independent Component 1, IC1) and ENSO (Independent Component 2, IC2) by employing the strategy of independent component analysis (ICA) combined with non-parametric optimal dimension selection to investigate the upper tropospheric water vapor variations and responses to ENSO and global warming. The results indicate that global warming and ENSO are the primary factors contributing to water vapor variations in the upper troposphere, achieving the significant correlations of 0.87 and 0.61 with water vapor anomalies respectively. Together, they account for 86% of the global interannual variations in water vapor. Consistent with previous studies, our findings also find positive anomalies in upper tropospheric water vapor during El Niño years and negative anomalies during La Niña years. Moreover, the influence extent of ENSO on upper tropospheric water vapor varies with the changing seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults are generally amongst the most vulnerable to heat and cold. While temperature-related health impacts are projected to increase with global warming, the influence of population aging on these trends remains unclear. Here we show that at 1.5 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C of global warming, heat-related mortality in 800 locations across 50 countries/areas will increase by 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.5%, respectively; among which 1 in 5 to 1 in 4 heat-related deaths can be attributed to population aging. Despite a projected decrease in cold-related mortality due to progressive warming alone, population aging will mostly counteract this trend, leading to a net increase in cold-related mortality by 0.1%–0.4% at 1.5–3 °C global warming. Our findings indicate that population aging constitutes a crucial driver for future heat- and cold-related deaths, with increasing mortality burden for both heat and cold due to the aging population. This study reveals that population aging intensifies heat- and cold-related deaths, more so than climate change, in 50 countries. At 1.53 °C global warming, aging contributes to rising heat-related deaths, offsetting declines in cold related death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiobjective environmental economic dispatching model of power system is established with minimum economic cost and pollution emission as the optimization objectives to meet the challenges of power system dispatching caused by the global energy crisis and climate warming and promote the realization of the double carbon goal. A multiobjective artificial bee colony algorithm (MOABC) based on nondominant sorting and improved greedy criterion is designed according to the characteristics of the model. In the design of the algorithm, the Taguchi method is used to optimize the parameters, the heuristic method is used to process the constraints dynamically, and a variety of comprehensive evaluation indexes are used to evaluate the algorithm's performance. In the simulation analysis, a six-machine power system and a ten-machine power system are simulated and compared with different algorithms to verify the proposed model's rationality and effectiveness. Finally, the technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) method is used to determine the optimal compromise solution to provide a reference for the scientific decision-making of dispatchers. The simulation results show that the MOABC algorithm achieved the lowest economic cost (161.159 × 103 yuan for the 6-machine system and 2.771 × 104 $ for the 10-machine system) and pollution emission (194.202 kg for the 6-machine system and 3.639 × 103 kg for the 10-machine system) compared to the multiobjective wind driven optimization, multiobjective particle swarm optimization, and NSGA-II algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive concentration of greenhouse gases in atmosphere emitted from human activities has been considerably changing the world's climate, especially in the last 50 years. Agriculture, as humans' food production system, has undoubtedly interrelated with climate change (CC). During current decades, the impacts of CC on agriculture have been properly investigated; however, the impacts of agriculture on CC have received lower attention. This may be due to the scarcity of long-term spatiotemporal climatic and agricultural data to analyze coupling trends and interactions. Benefiting from a comprehensive database and using structural equation modeling, this study seeks to investigate the contribution of agriculture to CC in Iran for more than half a century. For this, two indicators were developed to evaluate structural characteristics of agricultural expansion (AEI) and CC at the province level. Then, the effect of AEI on CC was investigated using the structural equation modeling technique. The results showed that AEI has not had a positive contribution to raising the long-term average surface temperature. Precisely, the provinces with a higher level of surface temperature have had a lower AEI, indicating that other sectors outweigh agriculture in exacerbating long-term CC in the country. Nevertheless, Iran still needs to improve and sustain its agricultural practices and technologies. The main conclusion of this study is that if the government and policymakers aspire to manage CC, they should have a more holistic and systematic view. In other words, not only do they need to consider all drivers of CC, but they also have to pay close attention to the network of relationships among the drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]