The global response to COVID-19 should also be a springboard for action on climate change resilience so we can narrow the divide between rich and poor and keep everyone safe.

ONGOING EVALUATION. This evaluation will assess whether the Climate Change Fund (CCF) has been successful in facilitating greater investments in member countries to address climate change and provide recommendations for future directions of the fund. 

This report evaluates the performance of three technical assistance (TA) projects in Viet Nam for the resilience of rural development and climate change, approved by the Asian Development Bank over 2009–2013: (i) TA 7377: Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Study in the Mekong Delta; (ii) TA 8102: Promoting Climate Resilient Rural Infrastructure in the Northern Mountain Provinces; and (iii) TA 8592: Improving Payment for Forest Ecosystem Service Implementation.

This policy dialogue session on water-related disaster resilience with various public scientific agencies, ministries and Senior public works department officials from Japan and developing countries in Asia.

ADB is proposing a project to deliver climate adaptive solutions for water resources management and modernize outdated irrigation and drainage systems within the Amu Darya and selected reaches of the Zarafshan irrigation system.

A major focus of the Phuentsholing Township Development Project is to provide a safer space in which the town can grow by helping develop a new urban center with raised ground levels in an area sheltered by the embankments.

This publication presents an overview of the Water Efficiency Improvement in Drought-Affected Provinces (WEIDAP) Project that aims to apply cost-effective technology for irrigation modernization and agricultural development in Viet Nam.

Young German climate-strikers on Friday (April 24) got creative with their social distancing, set up hundreds of cardboard cutouts to represent protesters taking part in the Fridays for Future demonstration.

One has been promoting environmental regulation for decades, while the other is bent on dismantling such policies. It makes for clear battle lines in the upcoming presidential election.

Sorry. A short dip in carbon emissions won’t save the planet after all. Things may even get worse, say the experts.

Climate change has significantly increased the likelihood of bumblebees being driven to extinction in certain regions across North America and Europe

As the world gets warmer, animals whose sex is determined by temperature are finding cool ways to control their own fate. But can they adapt in time?

At Unseen Amsterdam, striking images of a melting glacier are stirring visitors to action

The far-right winner of the first round of Brazil's presidential election wants to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and cut down the Amazon rainforest

Scientists are setting out to drill for the world’s oldest ice, in a bid to shed light on a dramatic tipping point in the world’s climate 900,000 years ago

A study of what will happen to glaciers in the Alps under various climate scenarios suggests they will almost completely disappear if we keep pumping out carbon dioxide

With increasing public concern over climate change, interest is turning to geoengineering again. Is it time to take a serious look at engineering our climate?

In his new book Upheaval, polymath Jared Diamond says nations need a special kind of therapy to solve big problems like climate change, Brexit and nuclear proliferation

Boris Johnson has become the new prime minister of the UK after winning the Conservative party leadership campaign. Here's what Johnson has said and done about climate change

Brexit may seem important right now, but whoever wins the election will be in charge halfway to 2030 – a crucial time in efforts to limit dangerous warming, says Jacob Aron

A trillion new trees isn’t the only climate solution, but it is the cheapest and it would make a huge difference if we do it right, says ecologist Tom Crowther

As the world gets warmer, animals whose sex is determined by temperature are finding cool ways to control their own fate. But can they adapt in time?

Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac led the 2015 Paris climate negotiations. They tell us why they’re hopeful for the future, and explain how fighting climate change is “the most exciting experiment in history”

Global warming has already made parts of the world – including cities in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates – hotter than the human body can withstand

Title: Climate Change May Worsen Sneezin' Season
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/3/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: Could the Weather Swings of Climate Change Make Flu Seasons Worse?
Category: Health News
Created: 2/20/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 2/21/2020 12:00:00 AM

Kathryn Knight

Gabriela Montejo-Kovacevich, Simon H. Martin, Joana I. Meier, Caroline N. Bacquet, Monica Monllor, Chris D. Jiggins, and Nicola J. Nadeau

Microclimatic variability in tropical forests plays a key role in shaping species distributions and their ability to cope with environmental change, especially for ectotherms. Nonetheless, currently available climatic datasets lack data from the forest interior and, furthermore, our knowledge of thermal tolerance among tropical ectotherms is limited. We therefore studied natural variation in the microclimate experienced by tropical butterflies in the genus Heliconius across their Andean range in a single year. We found that the forest strongly buffers temperature and humidity in the understorey, especially in the lowlands, where temperatures are more extreme. There were systematic differences between our yearly records and macroclimate databases (WorldClim2), with lower interpolated minimum temperatures and maximum temperatures higher than expected. We then assessed thermal tolerance of 10 Heliconius butterfly species in the wild and found that populations at high elevations had significantly lower heat tolerance than those at lower elevations. However, when we reared populations of the widespread H. erato from high and low elevations in a common-garden environment, the difference in heat tolerance across elevations was reduced, indicating plasticity in this trait. Microclimate buffering is not currently captured in publicly available datasets, but could be crucial for enabling upland shifting of species sensitive to heat such as highland Heliconius. Plasticity in thermal tolerance may alleviate the effects of global warming on some widespread ectotherm species, but more research is needed to understand the long-term consequences of plasticity on populations and species.

Ana Gabriela Jimenez, Emily Cornelius Ruhs, Kailey J. Tobin, Katie N. Anderson, Audrey Le Pogam, Lyette Regimbald, and Francois Vezina

Seasonal changes in maximal thermogenic capacity (M_sum) in wild black-capped chickadees suggests that adjustments in metabolic performance are slow and begin to take place before winter peaks. However, when mean minimal ambient temperature (T_a) reaches –10°C, the chickadee phenotype appears to provide enough spare capacity to endure days with colder T_a, down to –20°C or below. This suggests that birds could also maintain a higher antioxidant capacity as part of their cold-acclimated phenotype to deal with sudden decreases in temperature. Here, we tested how environmental mismatch affected oxidative stress by comparing cold-acclimated (–5°C) and transition (20°C) phenotypes in chickadees exposed to an acute 15°C drop in temperature with that of control individuals. We measured superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities, as well as lipid peroxidation damage and antioxidant scavenging capacity in pectoralis muscle, brain, intestine and liver. We generally found differences between seasonal phenotypes and across tissues, but no differences with respect to an acute cold drop treatment. Our data suggest oxidative stress is closely matched to whole-animal physiology in cold-acclimated birds compared with transition birds, implying that changes to the oxidative stress system happen slowly.

Maria Stager, Nathan R. Senner, Bret W. Tobalske, and Zachary A. Cheviron

Flexibility in heat generation and dissipation mechanisms provides endotherms the ability to match their thermoregulatory strategy with external demands. However, the degree to which these two mechanisms account for seasonal changes in body temperature regulation is little explored. Here we present novel data on the regulation of avian body temperature to investigate how birds alter mechanisms of heat production and heat conservation to deal with variation in ambient conditions. We subjected Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) to chronic cold acclimations of varying duration and subsequently quantified their metabolic rates, thermal conductance, and ability to maintain normothermia. Cold-acclimated birds adjusted traits related to both heat generation (increased summit metabolic rate) and heat conservation (decreased conductance) to improve their body temperature regulation. Increases in summit metabolic rate occurred rapidly, but plateaued after one week of cold exposure. In contrast, changes to conductance occurred only after nine weeks of cold exposure. Thus, the ability to maintain body temperature continued to improve throughout the experiment, but the mechanisms underlying this improvement changed through time. Our results demonstrate the ability of birds to adjust thermoregulatory strategies in response to thermal cues and reveal that birds may combine multiple responses to meet the specific demands of their environments.

Upper Lutetian–Bartonian sedimentary mélanges, corresponding to ancient mud-rich submarine mass transport deposits, are widely distributed over an area c. 300 km long and tens of kilometres wide along the exhumed outer part of the External Ligurian accretionary wedge in the Northern Apennines. The occurrence of methane-derived carbonate concretions (septarians) in a specific tectonostratigraphic position below these sedimentary mélanges allows us to document the relationships among a significant period of regional-scale slope failure, climate change (the Early and Mid-Eocene Optimum stages), the dissociation of gas hydrates and accretionary tectonics during the Ligurian Tectonic Phase (early–mid-Lutetian). The distribution of septarians at the core of thrust-related anticlines suggests that the dissociation of gas hydrates was triggered by accretionary tectonics rather than climate change. The different ages of slope failure emplacement and the formation of the septarians support the view that the dissociation of gas hydrates was not the most important trigger for slope failure. The latter occurred during a tectonic quiescence stage associated with a regressive depositional trend, and probably minor residual tectonic pulses, which followed the Ligurian Tectonic Phase, favouring the dynamic re-equilibrium of the External Ligurian accretionary wedge. Our findings provide useful information for a better understanding of the factors controlling giant slope failure events in modern accretionary settings, where they may cause tsunamis.

We spoke with industry experts to identify what’s preventing developers from fully going green – and it all boils down to lack of finances.

In an exclusive interview, climate activist Greta Thunberg has told New Scientist that the coronavirus pandemic shows we can act quickly in an emergency

We can't lose sight of the climate emergency when dealing with the covid-19 pandemic, say Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac

Economic reconstruction is a chance to speed up decarbonisation, and the pandemic has shown a different kind of politics is possible

We’re already being swamped with ideas about “reforms” needed to recover from the pandemic crisis. But the word reform is like gift wrap – a handy cover for any offering, thought-through or otherwise.

Perhaps we should ditch the word entirely, and with it the forest of feelpinions about what governments “must” do to advance an author’s previously-held ideological positioning in the post-corona world.

Utah aims to reduce emissions over air quality concerns as other red states are also starting to tackle global heating

In a move to protect its ski slopes and growing economy, Utah – one of the reddest states in the nation – has just created a long-term plan to address the climate crisis.

Related: Washington state takes bold step to restrict companies from bottling local water

Warming springs can cause plants to bloom earlier, alter hibernation times and locations for migrating animals, and increase insect populations

Across the south-eastern US, trees are unfurling their clouds of leaves after winter. Yet this picturesque and usually welcome development is this year cause for consternation.

New data from the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) shows that in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and northern Florida, spring has arrived more than three weeks earlier than average, and earlier than at any point in the last 39 years it has been tracked.

Bank of England governor warns of financial collapse linked to climate emergency

• Top asset managers oversee $300bn fossil fuel investments
• Why are asset managers investing in fossil fuel companies?

Companies and industries that are not moving towards zero-carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt, the governor of the Bank of England has warned.

Mark Carney also told the Guardian it was possible that the global transition needed to tackle the climate crisis could result in an abrupt financial collapse. He said the longer action to reverse emissions was delayed, the more the risk of collapse would grow.

On a ship frozen in the Arctic, scientists have spent all winter to shed light on exactly how the world is changing

Smithsonian's Earth Optimism Summit features CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir

The extent to which Brazilian soy production and trade contribute to climate change depends largely on the location where soybeans are grown, according to a new study. In some municipalities, carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the export of soybean and derivatives are more than 200 times higher than in others.

A restoration ecologist has a simple message for anyone who thinks planting 1 trillion trees will reverse the damage of climate change: 'We can't plant our way out of climate change.'

Dozens of climate activists have been referred to the Home Office's anti-terror Prevent programme amid fears they may become radicalised, it has emerged.

Greta Thunberg has released a video showing a family calmly getting ready for the day while their house burns down around them as a symbol of the threat of climate change.

In today's Diary: XR activist says politicians aren't scared enough of the movement / Avgeeks make plane food at home / Sara Britcliffe's slight omission / Ellie Reeves on a positive of remote working

Environmental crises must not be forgotten amid the pandemic, says the UN Secretary General.