PNAS, 6 July 2026 Antarctic ice shelves act as natural barriers that slow the flow of land ice into the ocean. As fractures develop and deepen, these ice shelves become weaker, allowing glaciers to flow faster and increasing Antarctica’s contribution to sea-level rise. Most current ice-sheet models do not account for this process. Using a […]
Nature Climate Change, 10 June 2026 Human-driven sea-level rise is transforming once-rare “extreme sea-level events” into more frequent coastal hazards, increasing the risk of flooding, infrastructure damage, and coastal erosion worldwide. This study combined more than a century of global tide measurements with climate models to determine how much human-driven sea-level rise has increased the […]
Advances in Climate Change Research, June 2026 Extratropical cyclones – large weather systems that transport heat and moisture toward Antarctica – play an important role in the addition and loss of ice on the Antarctic Ice Sheet. This study used climate simulations to examine how warming and changes in Antarctic Ice Sheet elevation affect cyclone […]
Ocean Science, 30 June 2026 The North Sea has warmed about twice as fast as the global average sea surface temperature over the past 40 years. In addition to this long-term warming, short periods of unusually high ocean temperatures – known as marine heatwaves – are becoming more frequent. Using satellite observations together with ocean […]
Environmental Research Climate, 3 July 2026 Glaciers in the Western Himalayas store vast freshwater reserves that supply rivers supporting drinking water, agriculture, hydropower, and ecosystems for hundreds of millions of people downstream. Over the past four decades, the region warmed at twice the rate of the broader Indian landmass. Using glacier models under global warming […]
Climate Dynamics, 28 May 2026 Declining sea ice in the Arctic’s Barents-Kara Sea may be contributing to increased summer rainfall over northwest India through an atmospheric teleconnection, a process in which climate change in one region influences weather patterns thousands of kilometers away. Using observations from 1979-2022 alongside climate model simulations, researchers found that Arctic […]
Earth System Dynamics, 30 June 2026 Northern high latitude ecosystems above 50°N currently serve as an important carbon sink, storing at least twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere within boreal forests, tundra, permafrost, and soils. As temperatures rise, thawing permafrost releases increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, and may ultimately cause this […]
Advances in Climate Change Research, 5 June 2025 Ground slumping, erosion and other hazards resulting from permafrost thaw pose serious threats to livelihoods and infrastructure in Arctic communities. This study provides a hazard risk assessment of ground instability due to permafrost thaw between 2000-2020 in the circumpolar Arctic, which includes latitudes 40°N and above. They […]
Environmental Research Letters, 12 June 2026 Global warming leads to widespread permafrost thaw, releasing carbon dioxide and methane that drives further warming in a feedback cycle. Many models do not fully represent this feedback, which risks underestimating the threat of long-term warming impacts. This study investigates how this feedback affects the likelihood and timing of […]
Nature Perspectives, 17 June 2026 The next 30-50 years provide a critical window for governments to prepare for rising seas while Antarctic ice loss remains relatively predictable. Using present-day observations and multiple ice sheet models, this study found that the current rate of Antarctic ice loss is a strong predictor of its contribution to sea-level […]
Nature Earth and Environment, 15 June 2026 Glacier ice loss in Alaska and Iceland has been underestimated in recent decades because current satellite methods failed to fully account for how the Earth’s crust rises up as glaciers melt. When glacier melt occurs, the weight pressing down on the land decreases, causing the Earth’s crust to […]
Nature Communications, 16 June 2026 This study produced the first Greenland-wide model of glacier algae, showing that these microscopic organisms can grow around almost the entire edge of the ice sheet wherever melting exposes bare ice. Between 2000-2022, glacier algae expanded by nearly 3,700 square kilometers each year between 2000-2022, revealing a small but persistent […]
Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, 17 June 2026 This review paper summarizes long-term changes in Greenland ice sheet surface melt from 1500-2200, showing that surface melt has increased rapidly by around 1% per year since the 1990s, driven by regional warming and changes in atmospheric circulation. Since 1992, the Greenland Ice Sheet has already contributed […]
Nature Communications, 29 May 2026 The soils of Arctic river deltas store large amounts of carbon and nitrogen that have been locked away in frozen ground for thousands of years. This study estimates that these deltas contain 58 gigatons of carbon and 4 gigatons of nitrogen, despite covering less than 1% of the Arctic’s permafrost […]
Scientific Reports, 27 May 2026 Rising global temperatures increase the exposure of communities and infrastructure to floods and landslides in the Himalayas. This study found that 38% of urban settlements and more than 50% of hydropower facilities in India’s Baspa Basin are located in areas at high exposure to climate-related hazards. The greatest concern is […]