Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Climate science is the study of relatively long-term weather conditions, typically spanning decades to centuries but extending to geological timescales. The discipline is primarily concerned with atmospheric properties – for example temperature and humidity – and patterns of circulation, as well as interactions with the ocean, the biosphere, and, over longer timescales, the geosphere.
Residents of informal settlements suffer from extreme weather due to their precarious living environment. Now, findings show that extreme weather event thresholds do not fully capture the negative impacts experienced by women in Nairobi, Kenya.
Aerosol–cloud interactions are the largest uncertainty in radiative forcing. We combined machine learning and long-term satellite observations to quantify aerosol fingerprints on tropical marine clouds, using degassing volcanic events in Hawaii as natural experiences, and found that cloud cover increased relatively by 50% in humid and stable atmosphere, leading to strong cooling radiative forcing.
Global projections of the economic impacts of climate change have usually focused on rising average temperatures. Now, two studies depict more complex and gloomier scenarios by incorporating variability in temperature and precipitation.
The stability of the ice margin in Baffin Bay led to active decentering of sediments in the deep basin and slopes 25,000−15,000 years ago, but as the ice sheet retreated 13,000-11,000 years ago, deposition moved largely toward the shelf, according to radiocarbon records from 79 sediment cores.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations remained below 840 parts per million and polar regions were glaciated throughout much of the Early Cretaceous except during episodic volcanism, according to an analysis of stable isotope composition of plants and biogenic carbonate data.
When the Marinoan snowball Earth deglaciated, the ocean’s chemistry determined the strength and duration of the ensuing supergreenhouse climate, while the sudden warming and biological activity could have led to a rapid formation of cap dolostones.
In this Perspective, the authors develop an integrated framework to understand and predict the joint impacts of climate change and urbanization on biodiversity and ecosystems. They review examples of interacting impacts and present opportunities for future research.
The authors perform a meta-analysis to assess current and future capacities of healthcare systems under climate change. They summarize the key focus points of current literature and highlight the need for effective policies, trained workforces and redesigned infrastructure to meet future burdens.
As the military alliance created to counter the Soviet Union expands, it is prioritizing studies on how climate change affects security, cyberattacks and election interference.
The Maldives are racing to reclaim vast amounts of land to combat rising sea levels. But many are concerned that these efforts risk harming the paradise they aims to protect
The island nation is expanding its territory by dredging up sediment from the ocean floor. But scientists, former government officials and activists say such reclamation can harm marine ecosystems and make the country more vulnerable to rising seas.