Climate change is bringing heightened droughts, heat stress and floods. For our fruit trees, that means tougher conditions. To prepare means mining their genomes to hunt for resilience.
Storms, flooding and other climate-related events highlight the urgent need for a national managed retreat framework. Past experiences suggests it will involve many challenges.
Australian cities remain woefully unprepared for the more extreme weather we are already seeing with climate change. But some cities overseas stand out for having developed readymade solutions.
Temperature anomaly in Europe, Jan 1. Much of the continent was 10°C or more (dark red and grey) above the long-term average.
WX Charts
A new biodiversity index captures the climate risk for nearly 25,000 marine species and their ecosystems and lays the groundwork for climate-smart approaches to management and conservation.
Microalgae are a diverse group of microscopic aquatic organisms.
Maryna Lahereva/Shutterstock
New Zealand’s first adaptation plan gives local councils clearer guidelines, but it doesn’t tackle crucial questions about who should pay and how to future-proof major investments.
The people hardest hit by climate change are invariably those who are more vulnerable. We need to pay more attention to the root causes of vulnerability and address poverty and inequity.
Insulating walls and windows can keep hot air outside during future heatwaves.
C12/Shutterstock
Property buybacks and managed retreat from high-risk areas were once seen as far-off options as the planet warms. Now this ‘last resort’ adaptation to climate change is an urgent priority worldwide.
The Nationals have long promoted coal for regional development and politics. But new leader David Littleproud could seize the moment and refocus the regional party.
As the ocean temperature rises, many marine species are moving toward the north and south poles in search of cooler waters, thus rewriting the menus of seafood restaurants on the West Coast of Canada.
How can we, personally, prepare for a future with not only more frequent natural disasters, but one that will also profoundly change the environment, communities and the economy?
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and African Climate and Development Initiative Research Chair, University of Cape Town