Contribution of natural decadal variability to global warming acceleration...
Reasons for the apparent pause in the rise of global-mean surface air temperature (SAT) after the turn of the century has been a mystery, undermining confidence in climate projections. Recent climate...
View ArticleClimate model simulations of the observed early-2000s hiatus of global warming
The slowdown in the rate of global warming in the early 2000s is not evident in the multi-model ensemble average of traditional climate change projection simulations1. However, a number of individual...
View ArticleModelled glacier response to centennial temperature and precipitation trends...
The northern Antarctic Peninsula is currently undergoing rapid atmospheric warming. Increased glacier-surface melt during the twentieth century has contributed to ice-shelf collapse and the widespread
View ArticleBetting on negative emissions
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage could be used to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, its credibility as a climate change mitigation option is unproven and its widespread...
View ArticleA local coastal adaptation pathway
Local governments are not adapting to sea-level rise because it is difficult to build consensus on the need for change and the best way to implement it. In theory, adaptation pathways can resolve this
View ArticleLinearity between temperature peak and bioenergy CO2 emission rates
Many future energy and emission scenarios envisage an increase of bioenergy in the global primary energy mix. In most climate impact assessment models and policies, bioenergy systems are assumed to be
View ArticleQuantifying underestimates of long-term upper-ocean warming
The global ocean stores more than 90% of the heat associated with observed greenhouse-gas-attributed global warming. Using satellite altimetry observations and a large suite of climate models, we conclude
View ArticleDeterminants of stagnating carbon intensity in China
China committed itself to reduce the carbon intensity of its economy (the amount of CO2 emitted per unit of GDP) by 40–45% during 2005–2020. Yet, between 2002 and 2009, China experienced a 3% increase
View ArticleDeep-ocean contribution to sea level and energy budget not detectable over...
As the dominant reservoir of heat uptake in the climate system, the world’s oceans provide a critical measure of global climate change. Here, we infer deep-ocean warming in the context of global sea-level
View ArticleRapid increase in the risk of extreme summer heat in Eastern China
The summer of 2013 was the hottest on record in Eastern China. Severe extended heatwaves affected the most populous and economically developed part of China and caused substantial economic and societal
View ArticleHousehold electricity access a trivial contributor to CO2 emissions growth in...
Impetus to expand electricity access in developing nations is urgent. Yet aspirations to provide universal access to electricity are often considered potentially conflicting with efforts to mitigate...
View ArticleDelays in reducing waterborne and water-related infectious diseases in China...
Despite China’s rapid progress in improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WSH) access, in 2011, 471 million people lacked access to improved sanitation and 401 million to household piped water. As...
View ArticleThe global groundwater crisis
Groundwater depletion the world over poses a far greater threat to global water security than is currently acknowledged.
View ArticleLand-use protection for climate change mitigation
Land-use change, mainly the conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land, is a massive source of carbon emissions and contributes substantially to global warming. Therefore, mechanisms that aim
View ArticleWeaker soil carbon–climate feedbacks resulting from microbial and abiotic...
The large uncertainty in soil carbon–climate feedback predictions has been attributed to the incorrect parameterization of decomposition temperature sensitivity and microbial carbon use efficiency....
View ArticlePreventing species extinctions resulting from climate change
Recent studies show that current IUCN Red List assessment methods can identify species vulnerable to extinction because of climate change. But species must be assessed more completely and more regularly,
View ArticleDramatically increasing chance of extremely hot summers since the 2003...
Socio-economic stress from the unequivocal warming of the global climate system could be mostly felt by societies through weather and climate extremes. The vulnerability of European citizens was made...
View ArticleAdaptive potential of a Pacific salmon challenged by climate change
Pacific salmon provide critical sustenance for millions of people worldwide and have far-reaching impacts on the productivity of ecosystems. Rising temperatures now threaten the persistence of these...
View ArticleRising temperatures reduce global wheat production
Crop models are essential tools for assessing the threat of climate change to local and global food production. Present models used to predict wheat grain yield are highly uncertain when simulating how
View ArticleFlood risk of natural and embanked landscapes on the Ganges–Brahmaputra tidal...
The Ganges–Brahmaputra river delta, with 170 million people and a vast, low-lying coastal plain, is perceived to be at great risk of increased flooding and submergence from sea-level rise. However, human
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