Climate change articles from across Nature Portfolio

High-resolution modelling incorporating sea surface temperature variability reveals that ocean warming has already reduced sea–land breeze days in most large coastal cities. Thus, ocean warming poses an overlooked threat to a natural climate regulator, with future emissions pathways determining whether the decline accelerates or slows.

Like a tango partner stepping forward when the other falters, solar and wind can compensate for drought-driven hydropower shortfalls — turning these variable renewables into an underappreciated source of grid resilience.

Optimal climate change mitigation pathways have historically focused on achieving emissions reductions while ensuring cost efficiency. However, the broader impacts of climate action are also important for policymakers and stakeholders. We developed a method that enables mitigation pathways to be defined based on their impact on multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Precipitation distribution shows distinct spatial changes, with intensifications in Northern Europe and strong decrease in the Mediterranean, revealed by high-resolution climate model simulations.

Under extreme warm climates, the proportion of shallow cyclones increases in the tropics. These storms produce weaker winds but heavy rainfall, highlighting the necessity of reassessing shallow cyclone-related hydrological hazards.

This study shows that atmospheric desert dust keeps about twice as much infrared heat from escaping to space as climate models predict, highlighting that improving dust in models could sharpen weather forecasts and climate projections.

About 16% (with an uncertainty range of 1–47%) of culverts in New York State have capacities below the 50-year design discharge, which could lead to flooding, as revealed by large-scale hydrologic-hydraulic modeling across 2,300 catchments.

Developments in generative Artificial Intelligence and society’s perception of its safety shape four distinct scenarios of genAI use, from fast adoption to public backlash, that will shape socio-political challenges for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Tibetan Plateau warming amplification is projected to drive ~20–30% of Arctic and ~10–15% of Antarctic sea-ice loss, with its influence strengthening under higher warming levels, according to model simulations coupling atmospheric, oceanic, and sea-ice components.

Integrating knowledge across climate risks, societal responses and their interactions is a critical yet persistently challenging goal. We argue that advanced artificial intelligence frameworks, specifically foundation models, offer a new opportunity to unify these domains and support climate decision-making.

Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.

High-resolution modelling incorporating sea surface temperature variability reveals that ocean warming has already reduced sea–land breeze days in most large coastal cities. Thus, ocean warming poses an overlooked threat to a natural climate regulator, with future emissions pathways determining whether the decline accelerates or slows.

Tidal flats are vital carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots, yet they face increasing threats from misapplied climate solutions, including mangrove afforestation and renewable energy expansion. Protecting tidal flats from well-intentioned but misapplied solutions is crucial for aligning global climate and biodiversity goals.

Climate action is shaped as much by politics as by technology and economics. The Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), central to mitigation and adaptation assessments, do not yet include a quantitative representation of political development. We outline a research agenda to systematically integrate political dimensions into climate scenario modelling.