To put a price tag on climate change, some approaches focus on whether it made an event more likely, whereas others focus on whether it made an event more severe and damaging. A new study examines the validity of both approaches.
Climate Change
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Clouds over the Highest Mountains Dance a Little Differently
Clouds over the Tibetan Plateau and the Andes are growing colder and higher than other clouds in response to climate change. That could affect local hydrology and radiation.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Measuring Deep-Ocean Oxygen with Microscopic Magnetic Fossils
A global comparison of microbial magnetic minerals unlocks a new tool for glimpsing the future of oxygen in Earth’s changing oceans.
Posted inNews
A Hydrological Paradox on the Silk Road
How did trade prosper in Central Asia during a period of droughts and little rain?
Posted inResearch & Developments
2026 State of the Climate Report Shows a Planet Reaching Its Limits
The seventh edition of an annual report analyzing Earth’s “planetary vital signs” indicates that Earth systems are rapidly destabilizing, some at an accelerating rate.
The report, published today in BioScience, analyzed 16 of these signs, including greenhouse gas emissions levels, ocean heat content and acidity, the mass of major ice sheets, the number of hot days, Earth’s surface temperature, and more.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Patchier Permafrost Is Linked to More Intense Hillslope Erosion
Arctic landscapes with spots of disconnected permafrost erode faster than those with continuous permafrost, a new study finds.
Posted inScience Updates
Reliable AI Sea Ice Forecasts Depend on Sustained Observations
Sea ice is a fundamental regulator of Earth’s climate and an increasingly urgent forecast target itself. Can we trust the AI systems now being built to predict it?
Posted inEditors' Highlights
New Insights into Permafrost Degradation and Subsidence
A 20-year monitoring study in the discontinuous permafrost zone of Nunavik, Canada documents changing ground thermal dynamics and associated thaw subsidence.
Posted inResearch & Developments
Supreme Court Opens New Term with Major Climate Case
The U.S. Supreme Court opened its newest term by hearing a case about climate change, the outcome of which could have wide-reaching consequences for fossil fuel companies and state and local governments.
Posted inNews
Underwater Umbrellas Reduce—and Reverse—Coral Bleaching in the Caribbean
When corals get too hot, the algae that feed them can disappear, leaving them bleached. Blocking the Sun could help.