Climate change and armed conflict rank among the strongest drivers of migration across Africa. A new study by researchers at Chungnam National University analyzes 20 years of data (1995–2015) from African nations, finding that climate adaptation—particularly improvements in agricultural productivity—significantly weakens migration pressures linked to drought and armed conflict. Higher adaptive capacity, including better water access, health systems, and infrastructure, moderates these effects most during overlapping crises.

Researchers investigating the effectiveness of outdoor ads promoting climate change awareness and action found that a general message of climate emergency awareness received more QR code scans compared to a more-specific campaign focusing on sustainable fashion, according to a study published January 21, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by Maxwell Boykoff from the University of Colorado Boulder, USA, and colleagues.

During the last ice age, the Atlantic Ocean’s powerful current system remained active and continued to transport warm, salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic despite extensive ice cover across much of the Northern Hemisphere, finds new research led by UCL scientists.

A new flagship UN report warns that the world has entered an era of “global water bankruptcy,” where decades of overuse, pollution, and climate‑driven disruption have pushed many water systems beyond recovery. The analysis shows that long‑term withdrawals now exceed natural replenishment in numerous regions, resulting in depleted aquifers, shrinking lakes and wetlands, and rising land subsidence. The authors urge governments to shift from short‑term crisis response to “bankruptcy management” by preventing further irreversible damage, transforming water‑intensive sectors, and prioritizing just transitions for vulnerable communities.

A team of researchers led by the University of Plymouth have earned £3.7million from UK Research and Innovation to conduct an unprecedented assessment of the response and resilience of deep sea coral ecosystems. The five-year project will be delivered in collaboration with organisations across the Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius and will focus on coral reefs below the surface of the Indian Ocean, employing a number of methods to assess their vulnerability to climate change.