Nature Climate Change
Nature Climate Change is a monthly journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research papers that describe the most significant and cutting-edge research on the causes, impacts and wider implications of global climate change. The journal publishes climate research across the physical, biological and social sciences and strives to integrate and communicate interdisciplinary research. The journal aims to play a leading role in: providing accessibility to a broad audience to research published both within and outside the journal; raising the visibility of climate change research in related research communities as well as the mainstream media; and offering a forum for discussion of the challenges faced by researchers and policy makers (and other interested parties) in understanding the complex mechanisms and impacts associated with the Earth’s changing climate.
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Climate warming boosts frequency and intensity of southern Africa’s rainfall extremes
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 23 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02772-0
Extreme southward swings of the South Indian convergence zone (a major source of rainfall across southern Africa) can trigger devastating floods. Climate-model projections indicate that these swings might occur twice as often in the twenty-first century as in the previous century and produce more intense rainfall, owing to an increased land–sea temperature contrast and poleward intensification of atmospheric circulation.Targeting high-value uses to unlock the mitigation potential of clean hydrogen
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02766-y
Clean hydrogen is a versatile decarbonization option, but given its energy-intensive production, high costs and limited near-term supply, uses with the greatest environmental and economic benefits must be prioritized. Analysis of ten end-use sectors identifies high-value applications and suggests that uniform supply-side subsidies risk misallocating clean hydrogen and public funds, highlighting the need for sector-specific demand-side policies.Increased southward swings of the South Indian convergence zone under greenhouse warming
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 20 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02767-x
Extreme southward swings of the South Indian convergence zone can lead to severe rainfall and flooding in southern Africa. Here the authors show that climate change leads to an increase in the frequency and intensity of such swings.Rare diseases are an overlooked dimension in climate–health adaptation
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 19 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02770-2
A resilient society must prepare not only for common harms but also for uncommon vulnerabilities, such as rare disease where the consequences leave no room for failure. Ensuring that people with rare diseases have reliable access to essential care is crucial for fairness and safety in a changing climate.Biodiversity and the Conferences of the Parties
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 16 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02792-w
In a year containing summits from the three United Nations environmental frameworks, we consider how cooperation across the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) can facilitate implementation and impact. Co-timed with the start of the biodiversity COP, we highlight the reciprocal relationship between climate change and biodiversity.Astrid Schomaker on biodiversity in a triple COP year
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 16 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02778-8
This year, all three major Rio Conventions — on biodiversity, climate and desertification — convene their respective Conference of the Parties (COP). In advance of the biodiversity COP17, Astrid Schomaker, the executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, discusses the irrefutable need to integrate biodiversity conservation into broader environmental action to ensure local and global security and prosperity in a rapidly changing world.Climate choices and attention are shaped more by politics than weather
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 16 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02775-x
Climate change will further increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Subjective experience and attribution of extreme weather events to climate change, rather than objective exposure alone, are associated with greater climate-relevant attention and choices. Political affiliation influences attention and behaviour irrespective of subjective attribution and objective exposure.Political affiliation impacts climate attention and choice beyond extreme weather exposure
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 16 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02765-z
Mechanisms behind climate decision-making remain unclear. This study shows that political affiliation and subjective attribution shape attention allocation and climate-related choices, with subjective attribution moderating the effects of political affiliation and objective weather exposure.Combining climate policy instruments for a just transition to a climate-neutral economy
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02757-z
A distributional analysis of European Union climate policy pathways traces the costs of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the level of households based on their spending and income patterns. We find that different equity considerations, including income inequality and within-group impact divergence, can shape optimal climate policy design with carbon prices, transfers, standards and subsidies.Warming oceans hit the battlefield
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02782-y
Marine radar signal propagation is highly sensitive to fine-scale vertical changes in water vapour. Now research shows that long-term increases in sea surface temperatures are strengthening the frequency and intensity of the features that allow radar signals to travel further than expected.Warming-driven lower-tropospheric stratification intensifies ducting over global oceans
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02774-y
Atmospheric ducts are waveguides that affect electromagnetic propagation in the atmosphere, affecting radar and other technologies. Here the authors show that warming intensifies such ducting over mid- to low-latitude oceans.High wind speed reduces water use efficiency across terrestrial ecosystems
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02781-z
The role of wind in ecosystem water use efficiency remains unclear. The authors show that water use efficiency declines with increasing wind speed, driven mainly by increases in evapotranspiration and secondarily by reductions in gross primary productivity.Prioritizing demand-side use of clean hydrogen for cost-effective mitigation
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 15 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02763-1
Clean hydrogen is widely proposed for hard-to-abate sector decarbonization, but its limited supply requires prioritizing sectors with the highest value. This study evaluates ten sectors and identifies key no-regret uses, while highlighting the need for specific demand-side policies.The ambitions and limitations of climate assemblies
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02764-0
Climate citizens’ assemblies are gaining traction worldwide as a way to involve the public in climate governance. Now a study demonstrates that although these assemblies propose more ambitious recommendations than existing climate policy, these recommendations vary across contexts and have limited impact on policy decisions.Strengthening Rio Convention implementation architecture through reciprocal learning
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02777-9
As the Rio Conventions mature from negotiating commitments towards delivering them, strengthening implementation has become an urgent priority. We argue for greater cross-convention learning within the context of institutional architecture to accelerate progress on climate, biodiversity and land degradation.Species hybridization belongs on the climate change agenda
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02780-0
Species hybridization belongs on the climate change agendaCitizens’ assemblies propose ambitious climate policy but impacts remain limited
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02755-1
Deliberative citizen participation, such as climate assemblies, has been promoted in climate governance. This study finds that, although assemblies proposed more ambitious recommendations than existing climate policy, these recommendations rarely translated into actual policy decisions.Enhancing fairness in climate action through policy packages
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 13 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02751-5
Achieving climate neutrality requires policies perceived as fair, with equity both between and within income groups. Here researchers evaluate the equity implications of different European Union climate policy packages and show how a mixed policy design can balance trade-offs between two equity dimensions.Selecting climate solutions creates new institutional authority
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 12 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02771-1
Selecting climate solutions creates new institutional authorityTopographic variation shapes organismal responses across mountain landscapes
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 09 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02773-z
The authors developed simulations to examine the role of topographic variation in mediating species response to climate change. They show that topographic variation can reduce energy expenditure by up to 20.8% and increase buffering benefits of elevation shifts by 82.1% for a diurnal ectotherm.