26 October, 2023

Coastal loss and damage for small islands

Authors

Rosanne Martyr-Koller and Carl-Friedrich Schleussner

Quantifications of the impacts of sea-level rise in small island states are urgently needed. Focusing on flooding from sea-level rise, a study now estimates the impacts in terms of cost, land loss and population exposure across all small islands worldwide.

However, for many islands, quantitative assessments of climate change impacts at the national level are still lacking. Writing in Nature Sustainability, Vousdoukas et al. fill this gap through a global quantitative assessment of the direct impacts from sea-level rise (SLR) on the people, land and economies of SIDS. Their study shows in grim clarity the unavoidable impacts of SLR for SIDS even under a 1.5 °C scenario, but also underscores what negative impacts can still be avoided if urgent climate action is taken.

Publications

The impacts of multiple tropical cyclone events and associated precipitation on household income and expenditures

Climate change-fueled tropical cyclones have already reduced household incomes across the Philippines by 7% on average, according to a new study. This figure rises to more than 20% in some provinces.

Mapping the climate risk to urban forests at city scale

This study uses an urban tree inventory and high-resolution climate projections to identify species and locations at risk from climate change in Melbourne. It finds that half of the tree species in Melbourne are at risk from heat stress, which could climb to two thirds in 2050.

The 1.5°C limit and risks of overshoot

This briefing looks at what the 1.5°C limit means in terms of adaptation and loss and damage for the most vulnerable countries and regions. It finds that slowing down warming is critical to buy us time to adapt and also to avoid irreversible loss and damage. Even if warming rises above 1.5°C (overshoot) we can bring it down again with ambitious emissions reductions.

Hydrologic interpretation of machine learning models for 10-daily streamflow simulation in climate sensitive upper Indus catchments

This study augments physical hydrological modeling with machine learning models to simulate surface water flows in Upper Indus water catchments in Pakistan.

Le seuil de +1,5°C et le risque de dépassement de ce seuil

Ce rapport examine ce que la limite de 1,5 °C signifie en termes d'adaptation et de pertes et dommages pour les pays et régions les plus vulnérables. Il constate qu'il est essentiel de ralentir le réchauffement pour nous donner le temps de nous adapter et pour éviter des pertes et des dommages irréversibles. Même si le réchauffement dépasse 1,5 °C, nous pouvons le faire baisser à nouveau en réduisant les émissions de manière ambitieuse.

Representing natural climate variability in an event attribution context: Indo-Pakistani heatwave of 2022

New study finds that the 2022 Indo-Pakistani heatwave was both more likely to occur and more intense due to increasing global warming – even when accounting for the effects of natural climate variability and the forced response to anthropogenic climate change.

Extreme terrestrial heat in 2023

Multiple relentless heatwaves occurred in 2023, with much of the world experiencing at least 20 more heatwave days than the 1991–2020 average. This study looks at prominent and record-breaking events around the world.

Climate impacts in northern forests

Northern forests hold around 54% of the world’s total terrestrial carbon stock and contribute more than one-third to our global terrestrial carbon sink. This report reviews the impact of human induced climate change on northern temperate and boreal forests.

Effects of idealised land cover and land management changes on the atmospheric water cycle

This study investigates how land cover and land management affects atmospheric moisture transport using global climate models. It finds that cropland expansion is generally causing a drying and reduced local moisture recycling, while afforestation and irrigation expansion generally cause wetting and increased local moisture recycling.

Climate justice and loss and damage: perspectives from the global south

This article outlines the loss and damage debate through a climate justice lens with particular emphasis on Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries. It examines the latest developments of the new loss and damage fund including operationalisation.

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A better integration of health and economic impact assessments of climate change

This study lays out how to integrate the economic repercussions of climate change on people's health with direct health impacts. The authors argue this could provide more realistic scenario projections than health studies on their own and be more useful for adaptation policy.

Kipppunkte und kaskadische Kippdynamiken im Klimasystem

Dieser im Auftrag des deutschen Umweltbundesamtes erstellte Bericht befasst sich mit Kippelementen - sensible Komponenten des Erdsystems, die bei Überschreiten kritischer Schwellenwerte (Kipppunkte) irreversiblen Veränderungen ausgesetzt werden können. Er unterstreicht, dass selbstverstärkende Mechanismen zwischen diesen Elementen zu schnellen, irreversiblen Veränderungen führen können.

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Decarbonisation targets and 1.5℃ pathways

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