This study examines the influence of agricultural irrigation on heat stress and contrasts it against local impacts of urbanization in North American cities using regional climate model simulations. The results indicate that irrigation decreases air temperature and increases relative humidity, with daytime urban moist heat stress reduced according to most indices.

For almost 30 years, an insect fungal disease has repressed defoliation caused by the spongy moth in North American hardwood forests. The fungus needs cool, moist weather, but computer models project that the effects of climate change will prevent the fungus from killing spongy moths, which could lead to a resurgence of this devastating forest pest.

In extensive food-delivery order records across 100 Chinese cities, a marked surge in urban residents’ reliance on food-delivery services can be seen during hot days, which suggests a newly emerging heat adaptation strategy. Further quantification of mitigated heat exposure reveals unequal benefits experienced by different populations.

Whales transform prey biomass into labile micronutrients and inject them directly into the surface ocean, according to chemical analyses of whale excrement samples from the Southern Ocean.

This study examines the influence of agricultural irrigation on heat stress and contrasts it against local impacts of urbanization in North American cities using regional climate model simulations. The results indicate that irrigation decreases air temperature and increases relative humidity, with daytime urban moist heat stress reduced according to most indices.

For almost 30 years, an insect fungal disease has repressed defoliation caused by the spongy moth in North American hardwood forests. The fungus needs cool, moist weather, but computer models project that the effects of climate change will prevent the fungus from killing spongy moths, which could lead to a resurgence of this devastating forest pest.

In extensive food-delivery order records across 100 Chinese cities, a marked surge in urban residents’ reliance on food-delivery services can be seen during hot days, which suggests a newly emerging heat adaptation strategy. Further quantification of mitigated heat exposure reveals unequal benefits experienced by different populations.

Chemical, physical and biological forces all act to weather minerals. Rebecca Lybrand explores how mineral transformations are ubiquitous in the environment and in our daily lives.

Maritime transportation is often considered a ‘hard to abate’ sector, meaning it is difficult to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Using high-resolution data on ship activity, a techno-economic analysis indicates that electrifying US domestic ships of lower than 1,000 gross tonnage to reduce emissions could become cost effective, if a small percentage of long trips are excluded.