Pinpointing when early land plants colonized terrestrial environments and began influencing Earth's systems is a core question in the evolution of the Earth system. A research team led by Prof. ZHAO Mingyu at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has uncovered evidence indicating that land plants may have started reshaping Earth's surface environments far earlier than previously recognized.

More thorough testing of methane and ethane emissions in Osaka, Japan, identified numerous natural gas-related large methane sources that were mostly overlooked in current predictions. These sources may be useful future targets for mitigating emissions.

A team of scientists led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), and Leipzig University has developed a new method to track the Earth’s greenness – a key indicator of vegetation health and activity – by calculating its centre of mass.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Leipzig) have shown how natural ocean cycles and rainfall patterns prevent a synchronised, planet‑wide drought and global-scale agricultural collapse. Based on over 100 years of climate data, the study finds that though warming increases drought severity, synchronised droughts are rarer than expected, affecting only 1.8–6.5% of land at any time. By treating droughts as a connected global system, the research team has identified key “drought hubs” and early‑warning regions that can help stabilise food markets.

The summer monsoon season runs from June through September and delivers roughly 80% of the rain India receives in a year. Over the last few decades, the amount of rain has increased while the concentration of rainfall has shifted west over the continent. Now, researchers at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology have found that the intensity and location of the late-season rainfall is significantly influenced by Arctic sea ice melt that occurs earlier in the summer.