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.
Updated: 2 hours 38 min ago
Declining environmental predictability erodes reproduction in a tropical seabird
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 13 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02795-7
The authors show that, for a tropical seabird model species, winter–spring phytoplankton blooms kept a stable mean timing but became more variable between years. Breeding synchrony weakened and reproductive success declined and became less consistent over the same two decades.Coal power lives longer next to data centres
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 10 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02769-9
Data centres are among the world’s fastest growing electricity consumers. An analysis of more than 9,000 facilities worldwide links the artificial intelligence-era expansion of data centres to delayed coal plant retirements and around 2 Gt of additional carbon dioxide emissions.Higher warming leads to a larger zero-emissions commitment
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 10 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02789-5
Scientific grounds for a net-zero policy assume near-zero committed warming over a few decades after CO2 emissions cease. A modelling study suggests that if prior peak temperatures rise above 2 °C before cessation of CO2 emissions, committed warming increases, making it harder to stabilize global warming.Early evidence links data centre exposure to coal power retirement timelines
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 10 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02794-8
Data centre expansion may slow the coal-fired power plants phase-out, complicating decarbonization pathways. This study finds that coal units exposed to post-2020 data centres have lower retirement risks and their potential lifetime extensions could cause large additional CO2 emissions.A further acceleration of clean energy is needed for global CO<sub>2</sub> emissions to peak and decline
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 10 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02821-8
This work projects a decline in global emissions in 2026 as a result of clean energy and in response to conflicts. Energy demand has increased, and will continue to, with electric vehicles and solar and wind deployment mitigating emissions; accelerated deployment is needed to reduce emissions.Regional climate change approaches Paris limits
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 09 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02797-5
It has been surprisingly difficult to calculate how much warming different regions of the Earth have experienced since pre-industrial times. Now, research shows that in most land regions, the temperature thresholds that governments agreed to in Paris to keep below are already dangerously close.All IPCC AR6 regions are close to their 1.5 °C- and 2 °C-equivalent warming limits
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 09 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02790-y
Climate targets are set for global temperatures, but what they mean regionally is less clear. Here the authors quantify the amount of human-induced warming in individual IPCC regions and find that, by 2025, they had reached 90–94% (65–76%) of their expected warming levels at the 1.5 °C (2 °C) global warming thresholds.Managing risk in carbon portfolios
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 06 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02786-8
Carbon removal methodologies have different risks of stored CO2 leaking back to the atmosphere. Now a study provides a quantitative framework for comparison, a necessary tool for building carbon storage portfolios with improved delivery, valuation and cost.The carbon at risk measure for managing carbon removal risk and guiding portfolio construction
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 06 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02785-9
Carbon removal markets lack a standard metric for assessing permanence risk, limiting effective risk management and product development. Here researchers propose carbon at risk, a probabilistic measure, and calibrate it for forest carbon and geological storage projects, demonstrating the benefits of diversification.Brazil’s data-driven plan for climate-resilient healthcare
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 03 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02779-7
By integrating climate risk into health planning, Brazil is redesigning healthcare to withstand floods, heatwaves and other climate shocks.Time to drop the no-policy business-as-usual baselines
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 03 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02787-7
Baseline construction shapes estimates of mitigation cost, ambition and progress, while no-policy counterfactuals could vary with choices about policy, technology and development. Rather than relying on one constructed baseline, assessments and related conclusions should be compared across plausible baselines.Zero emissions commitment depends on warming level
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 03 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02776-w
The global temperature change that happens after emissions cease is expected to be close to zero. Here the authors use model simulations to show that this zero emissions commitment depends on the warming level at which emissions cease and might be positive for higher warming.Southeast Asian voices on climate change
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 02 November 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02783-x
Responding to the increasing risks of climate change in Southeast Asia requires research and effective action that considers the unique challenges of the region. In this Viewpoint, researchers and practitioners from the region share their views on the progress made in understanding and responding to climate change.Atmospheric stabilization of the East Antarctic ice sheet under warming
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 30 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02791-x
The long-term response of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to warming is often studied using ice-only simulations. Here the authors use a coupled ice–atmosphere–ocean model and find that East Antarctica remains stable even under higher warming because changes in atmospheric circulation increase precipitation sensitivity.Closing the climate–economics communication gap
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 28 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02784-w
As the IPCC is in its seventh assessment cycle, bridging the gap between physical climate science and economics has become more urgent. Estimating climate damages requires a rigorous translation of physical hazards into economic losses, highlighting the need for better communication between the disciplines.Reversal of Antarctic Intermediate Water trends triggered by sea ice decline
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 28 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02758-y
This work investigates the effect of the 2016 regime shift in Antarctic sea ice on Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW). The authors show that decreased sea ice and reduced freshwater subduction lead to saltier and denser AAIW, with implications for wide-scale water-mass properties.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.