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 drives thermal shocks and accelerated freshwater habitat fragmentation
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02731-9
Assessing 9,809 freshwater fish species globally, this study shows risk to a high proportion of species in the tropics, and severe extremes in non-tropical regions. Under high emissions, gradual warming drives abrupt exposure, with 63% of species facing accelerating thermal fragmentation by 2099.Developing double materiality for climate-related financial policy
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02725-7
The ‘double materiality’ framework helps guide financial policymakers in assessing the risks of climate change, but masks complex interactions within the financial system. I argue that effective policy requires more clarity on the underlying relationships and the links to specific mandates of different financial policymakers.Thermal justice in urban climate change adaptation
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02727-5
Extreme heat events are increasing, and urban adaptation is urgently needed for humans and non-humans to function safely under heat. Here we present a thermal justice framework and highlight how its use facilitates equitable adaptation and minimizes heat-risk displacement.Bringing justice to informal adaptation to heat stress
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02728-4
Informal adaptation can augment or replace formal adaptation with flexible and responsive actions, yet it can also reproduce and intensify existing injustices. We propose justice-oriented co-creation between informal and formal actions as a pathway for effective heat adaptation.A climate impact taxonomy operationalizing IPCC physical driver and risk concepts
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02717-7
Adaptation to climate risks requires integrating knowledge across IPCC working groups. This study presents a climate impact taxonomy that connects climatic impact-drivers from Working Group I to representative key risks from Working Group II and provides more direct guidance for risk assessment and adaptation strategies.Cities need robust carbon dioxide removal strategies to meet net-zero targets
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 18 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02676-z
Leading European cities race to reach net-zero emissions, but residual emissions are tied to easier-to-abate sectors and temporary, land-intensive carbon removal for compensation. To keep climate neutrality credible and fair, policy must tighten expectations on cutting emissions and set clear rules for carbon removal and credits.Particulate air pollution undermines plant water-use efficiency by inhibiting photosynthesis
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 17 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02712-y
The influence of fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) on plant water-use efficiency remains poorly understood. The authors highlight that PM2.5 exerts a primarily negative effect across scales due to asymmetric effects on photosynthesis and evapotranspiration.Empirical insights into residual emissions in urban net-zero targets
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02691-0
Although many cities have set net-zero targets, there is limited understanding of their residual emissions strategies. An analysis of 103 European cities reveals best practices but also a potential over-reliance on temporary land-based carbon removal and the limited robustness of compensation strategies.Failure to track a stable AMOC state under rapid climate change
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 13 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02730-w
Climate change is expected to alter oceanic circulation, with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) at risk of collapse. This work shows that the stability of the AMOC is dependent on the rate of atmospheric CO2 change rather than having a fixed threshold.Author Correction: Enduring impacts of El Niño on life expectancy in past and future climates
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 10 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02735-5
Author Correction: Enduring impacts of El Niño on life expectancy in past and future climatesGlobally and intergenerationally unequal exposure to hourly heat extremes
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 10 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02724-8
The authors quantify the global emergence of hourly heat extremes (HHEs), highlighting exposure overlooked by daily metrics. HHEs will increase fourfold by the end of the century under high emissions, with low- and middle-income countries, as well as successive generations, facing disproportionate exposure.Hydraulic traits govern opposing range shifts of montane trees under warming
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 06 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02726-6
The authors integrate dendrochronological records with range shifts to show that shifts in montane tree species are tightly linked to tree hydraulic properties. While climate-sensitive species track warming to higher elevations, stress-resistant species expand downslope.Persistence of Arctic Ocean acidification under negative emissions
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 06 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02715-9
Changes in the Earth system may persist long after atmospheric CO2 levels decline. This study examines ocean acidification and how it will persist in ocean regions globally, with the Arctic identified as the area that experiences relief from acidification the latest under negative emissions.Promoting effective and inclusive communication
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 04 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02729-3
Climate change communication shapes how societies perceive risks and respond to them. In this issue of Nature Climate Change we examine the evolving content and methods of climate communication, the challenges of urgency and injustice, and the strategies for building effective and inclusive communication channels.Challenges and next steps in climate disaster communication
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 04 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02714-w
Communication is essential for keeping communities safe when climate disasters occur. Here, we explore how disaster communication informs protective actions and examine five challenges: false information, exhaustion from repeated disasters, unequal access to information, polarized climate attitudes and mental health.Social media and the changing landscape of climate change communication
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 04 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02680-3
Social media have become an important arena for climate change communication. This Review synthesizes climate-related content on social media, its effects on climate attitudes, knowledge and behaviour, and its role in reshaping the broader communication landscape.Social influence shapes climate attitudes and action
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 04 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02711-z
Individuals and groups shape others’ attitudes and actions through social influence. This Perspective articulates a research agenda of social influence for climate action, synthesizes existing evidence and highlights its practical relevance for designing effective behavioural interventions.Local stories in climate change communication
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 30 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02694-x
Climate change communication differs across regions, shaped by unique political, economic, social and environmental conditions. These influence how climate messages are framed, received and acted upon by the local public. To explore this diversity, Nature Climate Change spoke to globally distributed scholars for their perspectives on the communication patterns, challenges and priorities in their regions.Connected cities build mobility resilience
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 28 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02722-w
Traditional resilience planning for extreme weather focuses on reinforcing municipal boundaries and internal infrastructure. Now, a study demonstrates how a city’s socioeconomic and physical ties to external urban networks act as a critical catalyst for intra-city mobility resilience under extreme rainfall.Tree species richness relates to long-term forest photosynthesis increase
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 27 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02698-7
The authors integrate tree species richness with satellite-derived photosynthesis proxies to show that richness correlates with greater current levels of photosynthesis and greater increases over time. Projected biodiversity loss by 2050 could lead to cumulative forest photosynthesis loss of 4.4–35.7 PgC.