The summer of 2026 has been confirmed as the third hottest on record over Europe and the hottest ever for western Europe (https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-august-was-worlds-joint-hottest-month-record-pushing-global-temperatures-back-above). The season was characterized by a series of heatwaves, beginning in late May and persisting until the end of August, across western Europe and large parts of central, eastern and southern Europe. The dangers of extreme heat, particularly in urban areas, are well known1,2. Unusually, many governments in western Europe took the step of releasing near-real-time estimates of the numbers of excess deaths associated with the extreme heat, underscoring both the severity of the temperatures and the high level of associated risk (for example, https://www.santepubliquefrance.fr/en/press/5764-excess-deaths-france-during-heat-wave-june-17-july-2 and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/interim-heat-mortality-monitoring-report-england-may-and-june-2026/). Europe is known to be the fastest-warming continent3, being an estimated 2.5 ∘C warmer in 2026 than it would have been in a pre-industrial climate. By contrast, the world as a whole is almost 1.5 ∘C warmer, with around 1.4 ∘C of that warming attributable to human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels4. Several studies have shown that human-caused warming has contributed significantly to heat-related mortality, with most heat-related excess deaths in recent years found to be attributable to anthropogenic warming5,6,7. In this study, we extend the analysis of...

Dobinski, W. Permafrost. Earth Sci. Rev. 108, 158–169 (2011). Schuur, E. A. G. et al. The effect of permafrost thaw on old carbon release and net carbon exchange from tundra. Nature 459, 556–559 (2009). Jin, X.-Y. et al. Impacts of climate-induced permafrost degradation on vegetation: a review. Adv. Clim. Change Res. 12, 29–47 (2021). Miner, K. R. et al. Emergent biogeochemical risks from Arctic permafrost degradation. Nat. Clim. Change 11, 809–819 (2021). Patton, A. I., Rathburn, S. L. & Capps, D. M. Landslide response to climate change in permafrost regions. Geomorphology 340, 116–128 (2019). Jiao, W. et al. Observed increasing water constraint on vegetation growth over the last three decades. Nat. Commun. 12, 3777 (2021). Heijmans, M. M. P. D. et al. Tundra vegetation change and impacts on permafrost. Nat. Rev. Earth Environ. 3, 68–84 (2022). Grünberg, I., Wilcox, E. J., Zwieback, S., Marsh, P. & Boike, J. Linking tundra vegetation, snow, soil temperature, and permafrost. Biogeosciences 17, 4261–4279 (2020). Liu, Y., Kumar, M., Katul, G. G., Feng, X. & Konings, A. G. Plant hydraulics accentuates the effect of atmospheric moisture stress on transpiration. Nat. Clim. Change 10, 691–695 (2020). Smith, T. & Boers, N. Reliability of vegetation resilience estimates...

The summer of 2026 has been confirmed as the third hottest on record over Europe and the hottest ever for western Europe (https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-august-was-worlds-joint-hottest-month-record-pushing-global-temperatures-back-above). The season was characterized by a series of heatwaves, beginning in late May and persisting until the end of August, across western Europe and large parts of central, eastern and southern Europe. The dangers of extreme heat, particularly in urban areas, are well known1,2. Unusually, many governments in western Europe took the step of releasing near-real-time estimates of the numbers of excess deaths associated with the extreme heat, underscoring both the severity of the temperatures and the high level of associated risk (for example, https://www.santepubliquefrance.fr/en/press/5764-excess-deaths-france-during-heat-wave-june-17-july-2 and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/interim-heat-mortality-monitoring-report-england-may-and-june-2026/). Europe is known to be the fastest-warming continent3, being an estimated 2.5 ∘C warmer in 2026 than it would have been in a pre-industrial climate. By contrast, the world as a whole is almost 1.5 ∘C warmer, with around 1.4 ∘C of that warming attributable to human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels4. Several studies have shown that human-caused warming has contributed significantly to heat-related mortality, with most heat-related excess deaths in recent years found to be attributable to anthropogenic warming5,6,7. In this study, we extend the analysis of...

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Another year, another record. Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other human-induced greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached unprecedented highs in 2025, committing the planet to further long-term warming, according to the latest WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. Atmospheric concentrations of these gases continue to rise, driving changes in the global climate. The past 11 years have been the warmest on record, says the report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which assesses greenhouse-gas levels through 2025. “The past 11 years have been the warmest on record and this trend is set to continue. CO₂ has a very long lifetime and so will affect the global climate not just for years but for decades and even centuries,” said Ko Barrett, WMO deputy secretary-general. Greenhouse gases are trapping unprecedented amounts of heat in the atmosphere, providing energy for more extreme weather and increasing risks to economies and societies. The WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin is one of the organisation’s flagship annual publications. It provides authoritative scientific information for negotiators at the UN climate conference. The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31), scheduled to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20, aims to turn climate commitments into concrete action. CO₂ growth...

Over 8,000 institutional investors are holding bonds and shares in coal, oil and gas companies to the tune of US$ 6.5 trillion. This website is a tool for citizens’ movements, customers and regulators...

Another year, another record. Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other human-induced greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached unprecedented highs in 2025, committing the planet to further long-term warming, according to the latest WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. Atmospheric concentrations of these gases continue to rise, driving changes in the global climate. The past 11 years have been the warmest on record, says the report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which assesses greenhouse-gas levels through 2025. “The past 11 years have been the warmest on record and this trend is set to continue. CO₂ has a very long lifetime and so will affect the global climate not just for years but for decades and even centuries,” said Ko Barrett, WMO deputy secretary-general. Greenhouse gases are trapping unprecedented amounts of heat in the atmosphere, providing energy for more extreme weather and increasing risks to economies and societies. The WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin is one of the organisation’s flagship annual publications. It provides authoritative scientific information for negotiators at the UN climate conference. The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31), scheduled to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20, aims to turn climate commitments into concrete action. CO₂ growth...

Source: Ars Technica

As glaciers melt and permafrost thaws, Longyearbyen, on the remote Arctic islands of Svalbard, faces climate-induced problems from tap water to housebuilding to landslides

Climate change, driven by humans, is making extreme weather more commonplace

Flame-generated thunderstorms known as pyrocumulonimbus clouds can make wildfires even more intense, and they are expected to become more common in Europe