How much longer will glaciers survive? A new study from ETH Zurich researchers offers the first detailed projection of how many glaciers could vanish by the year 2100 due to global warming – and why regions such as Switzerland will be most affected. This approach could also help policymakers, the tourism industry and natural hazard management plan for the future.

To address the global environmental and climate crisis and advance the UN SDGs, it is essential to fully leverage Earth observations (EO) through the integration of atmospheric, hydrological, cryospheric, lithospheric, ecological, and socio-economic data. Based on discussions from the 2023 “Towards Global Earth Observatory” workshop, this paper highlights the fragmented nature of current EO and data repositories and emphasizes the need for a more coordinated global Ground-Based Earth Observatory (GGBEO). We summarize the status of key in-situ and ground-based remote sensing systems and outline the actions required to build an integrated GGBEO with interoperable data repositories, unified observation networks, and sustainable long-term support.

A groundbreaking climate study led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with an international research team, reveals that a under high-emission scenario, Northern Hemisphere summer monsoons region will undergo extreme weather events starting in 2064.  Asia and broader tropical regions will face frequent “subseasona whiplash” events, characterized by extreme downpours and dry spells alternating every 30 to 90 day which triggers climate disruptions with catastrophic impacts on food production, water management, and clean energy systems.

To understand the present and try to predict the future, the past is a valuable tool. Researchers aim to understand the dynamics of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Lützow-Holmbukta region with the goal of determining if rapid ice sheet thinning (from approximately 9,000 to 6,000 years ago) was followed by stabilization or re-thickening. This information is key to helping predict future responses to ice sheet thinning, as well as to get a clear picture of the current behavior of ice sheet thinning across the Antarctic. With this, future responses to climate change can be improved.

A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution reports that Italian bears living in areas with many villages evolved and become smaller and less aggressive.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers enhanced Saccharomyces cerevisiae to increase its tolerance for high 2,3-butanediol concentrations. This was achieved by introducing mutations into the genomic DNA and successfully obtaining a mutant strain that proliferates 122 times more than the parent strain.

The Norwegian 'rules of use' for Sámi reindeer husbandry were intended to help keep reindeer husbandry sustainable and allow for self-governance. But "sustainability" and "self-governance" can mean something completely different for authorities than reindeer herders.

New research reveals a link between rising temperatures and changes in polar bear DNA, which may be helping them adapt and survive in increasingly challenging environments. 

The study by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) discovered that some genes related to heat-stress, aging and metabolism are behaving differently in polar bears living in southeastern Greenland, suggesting they might be adjusting to their warmer conditions. 

The finding suggests that these genes play a key role in how different polar bear populations are adapting or evolving in response to their changing local climates and diets.  

As wildfire smoke becomes a growing public-health story in the Northeast, a first-of-its-kind study in Environmental Health finds that Canadian wildfire smoke in the summer of 2023 worsened asthma symptoms in children across Vermont and upstate New York—even though the fires were burning hundreds of miles away.

A new analysis shows that most smallholder farms are not facing pollinator crises, unlike many industrial farms. The results hold up even when farms are far from forests or other natural habitats. Researchers said the findings suggest that on-farm plant biodiversity - even in fragmented landscapes - may be behind the findings. The research may hold lessons for industrial farming facing pollinator crises.