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Editorial article, editorial: the impact of weather on the behavior and ecology of birds.

• 1 Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Field Research Station at Fort Missoula, Missoula, MT, United States
• 2 Section for Evolutionary Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
• 3 Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom

Editorial on the Research Topic The Impact of Weather on the Behavior and Ecology of Birds

Introduction

In recent times, research examining the effect of weather on birds has focused predominantly on the impact of climate change ( Crick, 2004 ; Dunn and Winkler, 2010 ; Şekercioğlu et al., 2012 ; Riddell et al., 2021 ) or extreme weather events (e.g., Easterling et al., 2000 ; Bailey et al., 2017 ), often overlooking the fact that even small-scale variation in weather conditions can affect almost every aspect of avian biology. Short-term or localised changes in temperature, rainfall and wind can strongly influence individual behaviour, life history, physiology and morphology, with consequences at the population and species levels (e.g., McGowan et al., 2004 ; Wiley and Ridley, 2016 ). Further study of these processes is likely to play a key role in shaping our understanding of the mechanisms by which birds respond to climate change, but also has broader implications across ecology, evolution and conservation.

Birds are an ideal group in which to investigate the effects of weather because they occur in almost every ecosystem across the globe, they exploit a wide variety of food resources, and thousands of bird species migrate between vastly different environments during the course of their annual life cycle ( Elkins, 1983 ; Both et al., 2006 ; Gordo, 2007 ). This Research Topic brings together articles from researchers across the globe who take a range of approaches to advance our understanding of the impact of weather on birds. The contributions take the form of original research papers, review papers that synthesise our understanding of topical issues or perspectives that highlight issues warranting further research attention. The articles cover three main aspects: (1) the influence of weather on birds during nest building and incubation; (2) the influence of weather on birds during offspring growth; and (3) the impact of weather on birds during the non-breeding season.

Impact of Weather on Birds During Nest Building and Incubation

Weather conditions impact the breeding ecology of birds, but a disproportionate amount of research attention has focused on the impacts of temperature rather than other weather variables, such as rainfall. Yet, rainfall impacts birds by influencing where ( Fogarty et al., 2020 ) and when ( Hidalgo et al., 2019 ) they breed. Rainfall also affects their reproductive output ( Rodríguez and Bustamante, 2003 ; Skagen and Adams, 2012 ), for example by determining the foraging success of parents ( Dawson and Bortolotti, 2000 ; Öberg et al., 2015 ). This Research Topic highlights that rainfall impacts birds in diverse ways, and Rosamond et al. show that Dickcissel ( Spiza americana ) populations decline with increasing amounts of summer rainfall. However, drought also influences the distribution of breeding birds ( Barbaree et al., 2020 ; Campos-Cerqueira and Aide, 2021 ) and particularly so in arid regions ( Herremans, 2004 ). Bourne et al. advance our understanding of adaptive responses to drought by showing that Southern Pied Babblers ( Turdoides bicolor ) in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa significantly reduce their reproductive effort during breeding seasons characterised by drought but subsequently increase their reproductive effort during the breeding seasons immediately following droughts. Birds may therefore adapt to drought by delaying their reproduction until the dry conditions have passed, and such lagged effects of weather conditions certainly deserve further attention.

The nest building and incubation stages of reproduction have lagged behind the offspring rearing stage in terms of the amount of research attention they have received ( Hansell, 2000 ). Yet, it is now agreed that creating suitable microclimates in which to incubate eggs is important for embryos because temperatures that are higher or lower than optimal result in the mortality and suboptimal development of the embryos, respectively ( McGowan et al., 2004 ; DuRant et al., 2012 , 2013 ). In this Research Topic, we address this imbalance in research effort with a number of articles focusing on the nest and egg stages of reproduction. Specifically, Lowney et al. show that the extremely large communal nests of Sociable Weavers ( Philetairus socius ) provide year-round protection from adverse weather conditions in South Africa, whilst Perez et al. provide a comprehensive review of the influence of weather conditions on the morphology of birds' nests.

Other studies in the Research Topic address the effects of weather on breeding phenology. Hoover and Schelsky and McGuire et al. show that Prothonotary Warblers ( Protonotaria citrea ) and Arctic breeding waders, respectively, lay eggs earlier in warmer springs. Further, Huchler et al. show that the link between temperature and egg-laying phenology varies with the degree of urbanisation in Eurasian Kestrels ( Falco tinnunculus ), whilst Bründl et al. show that the link between temperature and phenology varies with altitude in Blue Tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus ). Nilsson et al. examine the influence of fine-scale variation in weather conditions on fecundity and show that White-throated Dippers ( Cinclus cinclus ) lay smaller clutch sizes in warmer temperatures. Elsewhere, Higgot et al. show that the incubation periods of Long-tailed Tits ( Aegithalos caudatus ) were longer in summers with higher amounts of rainfall. The amount of rainfall is expected to change over time ( Trenberth et al., 2003 ) and so this study helps us better understand the impacts of rainfall on birds in a changing climate.

Impact of Weather on Birds During Offspring Growth

Weather conditions impact the growth of offspring ( Mainwaring and Hartley, 2016 ), both directly via effects on cooling the young ( Ardia et al., 2010 ) and indirectly by influencing the provisioning behaviours of the parents ( Wiley and Ridley, 2016 ; Nord and Nilsson, 2019 ). In this Research Topic, Sauve et al. provide a comprehensive review of these processes and suggest ways to improve evolutionary predictions, whilst de Zwaan et al. show contrasting effects of weather on growth in three alpine songbirds. Finally, Andreasson et al. highlight those issues that require further research attention if we are to increase our understanding of the impact of temperature on offspring growth. This is important because negative impacts experienced during growth often have long-lasting effects on individuals through to adulthood ( Nord and Giroud, 2020 ).

Impact of Weather on Birds During the Non-Breeding Season

Birds are also impacted by weather during the non-breeding season and on migration. Those species living at high latitudes in the northern hemisphere may struggle to survive the cold winter months ( Haftorn, 1972 ; Wolf and Hainesworth, 1972 ; Spencer, 1982 ), when the short, cold days barely provide sufficient time for small birds to forage and acquire enough energy to avoid starvation, and the low temperatures increase the energetic cost of staying warm ( Brodin, 2007 ; Krams et al., 2010 ). Whilst some passerines save energy by occupying cavities that provide them with shelter from the cold night sky ( Mainwaring, 2011 ), Boyer and MacDougall-Shackleton show experimentally that White-throated Sparrows ( Zonotrichia albicollis ) increased their fat levels in response to exposure to a hypobaric climatic wind tunnel that simulated winter storms.

Migratory species are susceptible to changing weather conditions at multiple stages of their journey and must time their movements accordingly ( Haest et al., 2020 ). Here, Carneiro et al. examine the migratory behaviour of Whimbrels ( Numenius phaeopus islandicus ) in relation to temperature and winds, and Manola et al. use radar data to examine the intensity of migration over the North Sea in relation to synoptic weather conditions. Intense nights of migration were associated with an absence of rainfall and the presence of strong tailwinds, illustrating that sophisticated technological approaches can be used to examine the migratory behaviour of birds at large spatial scales.

Conclusions

The papers included in this Research Topic describe studies performed on several continents and increase our understanding of the impacts of weather on birds. We have included papers that explore exciting new topics such as the linkages between weather and the phenology of birds along gradients of urbanisation, the lagged effects of weather upon breeding birds and how birds may mitigate the negative impacts of drought by delaying their reproduction until the following breeding season. These studies have implications for our understanding of climate change because we can only accurately predict how birds may be affected by change if we have a sound understanding of how they are impacted by more typical weather conditions. We hope that the papers included in this Research Topic will spur many further studies that increase our understanding of the impact of weather on the behaviour and ecology of birds.

Author Contributions

MM drafted the editorial. AN and SS edited the draft. All authors approved the final version for publication.

AN was supported by the Birgit and Hellmuth Hertz Foundation/The Royal Physiographic Society of Lund (2017-39034) and the Swedish Research Council (2020-04686).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

This Research Topic was inspired, in part, by a symposium on the effects of weather on birds that we organised during the 12th European Ornithologists' Union (EOU) Conference in Cluj Napoca, Romania in 2019. We are grateful to the EOU for hosting the symposium, and to the speakers and attendants for spurring us to initiate this Research Topic. Meanwhile, we are grateful to each of the authors for contributing papers to this special issue. We also thank all of the reviewers for providing their valuable time and insights, because their input considerably strengthened the quality of the manuscripts. Finally, we would like to thank Pamela Hohl, Rui Fernandes, and Helen Kimbell for their helpful guidance throughout the preparation of this Research Topic.

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Keywords: birds, climate change, rainfall, reproduction, survival, temperature, weather, wind

Citation: Mainwaring MC, Nord A and Sharp SP (2021) Editorial: The Impact of Weather on the Behavior and Ecology of Birds. Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:777478. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.777478

Received: 15 September 2021; Accepted: 28 September 2021; Published: 22 October 2021.

Edited and reviewed by: Jordi Figuerola , Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), Spain

Copyright © 2021 Mainwaring, Nord and Sharp. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Stuart P. Sharp, s.sharp2@lancaster.ac.uk

This article is part of the Research Topic

The Impact of Weather on the Behavior and Ecology of Birds

Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research (2003)

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CRITICAL ISSUES IN WEATHER MODIFICATION RESEARCH Committee on the Status of and Future Directions in U.S. Weather Moclification Research and Operations Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Division on Earth and Life Studies NATIONAl RESEARCH COlJbJCll OF Tf-fE NATIONAL ACADEMfES : yip #X—*^ ~ 'l-d W]~ ~ -fir —.~ f ~—# . ~ ~ .——

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. Support for this project was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Contract No. 50-DGNA-1-90024-T0006. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authorts) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. International Standard Book Number 0-309-09053-9 (Book' International Standard Book Number 0-309-518520-0 (PDF) Library of Contress Control Number 2003115099 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W, Lockbox 285, Washington, D.C. 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu. Cover: Photograph taken by Dr. William L. Woodley at 7:39 pm CDT on August 11, 2001, from a Texas seeder aircraft flying at 20,000 ft. The cloud shown reaching cumulonimbus stature had been seeded near its top 10 minutes earlier with ejectable silver iodide pyrotechnics. Copyright 2003 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medirine The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M.-Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. ~ ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ~ unct~on~ng In accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www. national-academies. ore

COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN U.S. WEATHER MODIFI CATION RE SEARCH AND OPERATIONS MICHAEL GARSTANG (chair), University of Virginia, Charlottesville ROSCOE R. BRAHAM, JR., North Carolina State University, Raleigh ROELOF T. BRUINTJES, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado STEVEN F. CLIFFORD, University of Colorado, Boulder ROSS N. HOFFMAN, Atmospheric & Environmental Research, Inc., Lexington, Massachusetts DOUGLAS K. LILLY, University of Oklahoma, Norman ROLAND LIST*, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada ROBERT J. SERAFIN, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado PAUL D. TRY, Science & Technology Corporation, Silver Spring, Maryland JOHANNES VERLINDE, Pennsylvania State University, University Park NRC Staff LAURIE GELLER, Study Director (until 7/3 1/03) VAUGHAN C TUREKIAN, Study Director (until 8/31/02) ELIZABETH A. GALINIS, Project Assistant JULIE DEMUTH, Research Associate * Resigned 9/02 v

BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE ERIC J. BARRON, (chair", Pennsylvania State University, University Park RAYMOND J. BAN, The Weather Channel, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia ROBERT C. BEARDSLEY, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts ROSINA M. BIERBAUM, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor HOWARD B. BLUESTEIN*, University of Oklahoma, Norman RAFAEL L. BRAS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge STEVEN F. CLIFFORD*, University of Colorado/CIRES, Boulder CASSANDRA G. FESEN, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire GEORGE L. FREDERICK*, Vaisala Inc., Boulder, Colorado JUDITH L. LEAN*, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. MARGARET A. LEMONE, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado MARIO J. MOLINA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MICHAEL J. PRATHER*, University of California, Irvine WILLIAM J. RANDEL, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado RICHARD D. ROSEN, Atmospheric & Environmental Research, Inc., Lexington, Massachusetts THOMAS F. TASCIONE*, Sterling Software, Inc., Bellevue, Nebraska JOHN C. WYNGAARD, Pennsylvania State University, University Park Ex officio Members EUGENE M. RASMUSSON, University of Maryland, College Park ERIC F. WOOD, Princeton University, New Jersey NRC SfaJ0f CHRIS ELFRING, Director ELBERT W. (JOE) FRIDAY, JR., Senior Scholar LAURIE GELLER, Senior Program Officer AMANDA STAUDT, Program Officer SHELDON DROBOT, Program Officer JULIE DEMUTH, Research Associate ELIZABETH A. GALINIS, Project Assistant ROB GREENWAY, Project Assistant DIANE GUSTAFSON, Administrative Associate ROBIN MORRIS, Financial Associate * Term ended 2128103 Vl

Preface The growing evidence that human activities can affect the weather on scales ranging from local to global has added a new and important dimension to the place of weather modification in the field of atmospheric sciences. There is a need, more urgent than ever, to understand the fundamental processes related to intentional and unintentional changes in the atmosphere. The question of how well current technology, practice, and theory are equipped to meet these broader goals of weather modification is central to this report. The challenge to find the right balance between assured knowledge and the need for action is one which must guide the future actions of both scientists and administrators concerned with weather modification. Difficulties demonstrating repeatability of weather modification experiments, providing convincing scientific evidence of success, and overcoming serious social and legal problems led to the moderation of the early predictions of success in weather modification by the late 1970s. The need to understand the fundamental physical and chemical processes underlying weather modification became obvious, thus a dedicated research effort was repeatedly recommended by successive national panels. Failure to devote significant public and private resources to basic research polarized both the support agencies and scientific community, generating serious feelings of ambivalence within these communities toward weather modification. Despite significant advances in computational capabilities to deal with complex processes in the atmosphere and remarkable advances in observing technology, little of this collective power has been applied in any coherent way to weather modification. The potential for progress in weather modification as seen by this Committee is dependent upon an improved fundamental understanding of crucial cloud, precipitation, and larger- scale atmospheric processes. The Committee believes that such progress is now within reach should the above advances be applied in a sustained manner to answer fundamental outstanding questions. While the Committee acknowledges the prospect of achieving significant advances in the ability of humans to exercise a degree of control over the weather, we caution that such progress is not possible without a concerted and sustained effort at understanding basic processes in the atmosphere. Furthermore, such results are as likely to lead to viable weather modification methodologies as they are to indicate that intentional modification of a weather system is neither currently possible nor desirable. . . V11

. ~ . V111 PREFACE A significant part of the advances projected from applying the current intellectual and technological tools to solving critical uncertainties in weather modification will produce results well beyond the initial objective and will lead to applications in totally unexpected areas. For example, the ability to make useful precipitation forecasts, particularly from convective storms, may be a valuable by-product of weather modification research. The Committee is also acutely conscious of the fact that, particularly in modifying severe weather, researchers may be required to have, before attempting treatment, a reliable and proven ability to predict what would have taken place had the system not been modified. As a chaotic system, the atmosphere is inherently predictable only for a limited time, with the time limit shorter for smaller spatial scales. Thus, predictions must be couched in probabilistic terms that may not satisfy the user community that a reliable prediction has been made. This report is the latest in a series of assessments of weather modification carried out by the National Academies, which produced reports in 1964, 1966, and 1973, aimed at guiding weather modification research and policy development. The last National Academies report is nearly three decades old and, despite more recent assessments by other bodies such as the American Meteorological Society and the World Meteorological Organization, a need was seen for an evaluation of weather modification research and operations in the United States. In November 2000, the National Academies' Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASCJ organized a program development workshop to assess whether it would be useful to take a fresh look at the scientific underpinnings of weather modification. A year later, a study committee was convened, and four committee meetings were held over eight months. The Committee received input from individuals in federal and state agencies, scientists who have or are conducting relevant research, and professionals active in operational weather programs. The charge to the Committee explicitly excluded consideration of the complex social and legal issues associated with weather modification. This part of the question is of such importance in any weather modification effort that the Committee did go so far as to note, but not elaborate upon, the most critical questions in this area. Also in accordance with its charge, the Committee did not address inadvertent global-scale modification of climate and weather (e.g., global warming). However, the potential local and regional impacts of both intentional and inadvertent weather modification are considered. The report is addressed primarily to Administration officials and funding agencies who determine the direction of atmospheric research through budget decisions. The Committee recognizes, however, that weather modification has a wide audience. The Preface and the Executive Summary are directed at this wider audience, while a greater level of technical detail is contained within the body of the report. Michael Garstang, Chair Committee on the Status of and Future Directions in U.S. Weather Modification Research and Operations

Acknowledgments This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Richard Anthes, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Rafael Bras, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Stanley A. Changnon, Illinois State Water Survey William Cotton, Colorado State University John Hallett, Desert Research Institute Daniel Rosenfeld, Hebrew University Joanne Simpson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Gabor Vali, University of Wyoming Francis Zwiers, University of Victoria Although the reviewers listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the report's conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review ofthis report was overseen by John A. Dutton, The Pennsylvania State University. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination ofthis report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution. ix

Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION Motivation, 9 Cloud Physics, 13 First Experiments and First Controversies, 15 An Emerging Industry and Developing Public Concern, 16 The Pioneering Experiments, 17 The Need for Impartial Assessment of Seeding Results, 18 2 CURRENT STATUS OF WEATHER MODIFICATION OPERATIONS AND RESEARCH Current Operational Efforts, 23 Current Scientific Efforts, 24 Other Results, 35 Recognition of Key Uncertainties in Weather Modification, 36 EVALUATION REQUIREMENTS FOR WEATHER MODIFICATION Physical Evaluation, 39 Statistical Evaluation, 40 Measurement Uncertainties, 42 Uncertainties in Defining and Tracking the Target, 42 Uncertainties in Reaching the Target, 43 Assessing the Area Affecte d, 44 4 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING Measurement and Observing Technologies, 45 Modeling and Data Assimilation, 54 Laboratory Studies, 61 Field Studies, 63 Xl 1 9 23 39 45

. . X11 CONCLUS IONS AND RE COMM ENDATIONS Conclusions, 67 Recommendations, 72 REFERENCES APPENDIXES B C D Glaciogenic and Hygroscopic Seeding: Previous Research and Current Status, 89 Modern Statistical Methods and Weather Modification Research, 107 Glossary, 1 14 Acronyms, 118 E Community Participation, 1 19 F Committee Member B fog raphies, 1 2 1 CONTENTS 67 75 89

The weather on planet Earth is a vital and sometimes fatal force in human affairs. Efforts to control or reduce the harmful impacts of weather go back far in time. In this, the latest National Academies’ assessment of weather modification, the committee was asked to assess the ability of current and proposed weather modification capabilities to provide beneficial impacts on water resource management and weather hazard mitigation. It examines new technologies, reviews advances in numerical modeling on the cloud and mesoscale, and considers how improvements in computer capabilities might be applied to weather modification. Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research examines the status of the science underlying weather modification in the United States. It calls for a coordinated national research program to answer fundamental questions about basic atmospheric processes and to address other issues that are impeding progress in weather modification.

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Climate change, energy, environment and sustainability topics research guide

What is climate change.

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history, which disrupts the usual balance of nature and is a threat to human beings and other forms of life on Earth. This topic guide includes sample keywords and search terms, databases to find sources, and samples of online books.

Example keywords and subtopics

Example keywords or search terms:  

• Climate change
• global warming
• greenhouse effect or greenhouse gas
• climate crisis
• environmental change
• clean energy
• alternative energy or renewable energy
• green energy or renewable energy or clean energy
• Low carbon or carbon neutral
• Carbon offsetting
• sustainability environment or sustainability
• environmental protection
• pollution or contamination
• impact or effect or influence
• cost or price or expense or money or financial
• fossil fuels or coal or oil or gas

Tip: This is a big topic with lots written so you can often focus on one or two subtopics. This will help to find more relevant sources, more quickly and be a better fit for an assignment. 

Possible subtopics ideas:  Pick one or two subtopics and then add those words to your search.

• Health impacts of climate changes (e.g. air pollution, water pollution, etc.)
• impacts on a specific city, state, region or country
• political impacts (e.g. voting, government policy, etc.)
• impact on specific population or culture (e.g. children, elderly, racial or ethic group, country, etc.)
• specific types of renewable or alternative energy (e.g. solar, wind, bio, etc.) 
• example of new technology (e.g. electric cars or electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles
• economic impacts (e.g. business, employment, industry (e.g. oil, coal, etc.)
• weather and impacts (e.g. rising sea levels, flooding, droughts or heat waves, etc.)
• media aspects (e.g. news coverage, advertising, misinformation, movies, music, etc.) 
• Tutorial: Creating an effective search strategy

• Use meaningful keywords to find the best sources
• Apply search strategies like AND and OR to connect keywords
• Tutorial: What is a library database and why should I use one?

• Identify what a library database is
• Recognize the two main types of library databases
• Know why you should use them
• Understand why searching a library database is different than searching the general internet

Databases for finding sources

Article Databases - 

Use articles to find new research, specific information and evidence to support or refute a claim. You can also look at the bibliography or works cited to find additional sources. Some articles give an overview of a specific topic -- sometimes called "review articles" or "meta-analyses" or "systematic review." Databases are like mini-search engines for finding articles (e.g. Business Source Premier database searches business journals, business magazines and business newspapers). Pick a database that searches the subject of articles you want to find. 

• Agricultural & Environmental Science Database Search journals and literature on agriculture, pollution, animals, environment, policy, natural resources, water issues and more. Searches tools like AGRICOLA, Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management (ESPM), and Digests of Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) databases.
• GreenFILE Collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles. Multidisciplinary by nature, GreenFILE draws on the connections between the environment and agriculture, education, law, health and technology. Topics covered include global climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
• Ethnic NewsWatch Ethnic NewsWatch is a current resource of full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press from 1990, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives.
• Opposing Viewpoints in Context Find articles on current issues, including viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, magazine and newspaper articles.

Sample of online books

Below are a selection of online books and readings on the broad topic. We have more online books, journal articles, and sources in our Libraries Search and article databases.  

• A climate policy revolution : what the science of complexity reveals about saving our planet by Roland Kupers ISBN: 9780674246812 Publication Date: 2020 "In this book, Roland Kupers argues that the climate crisis is well suited to the bottom-up, rapid, and revolutionary change complexity science theorizes; he succinctly makes the case that complexity science promises policy solutions to address climate change."

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Research Topics

NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement mission ( GPM ) develops and deploys advanced space-borne sensors to gain physical insights into precipitation processes and to enable improved monitoring and forecasting of climate, weather and precipitation-related natural hazards. The GPM mission's Core Observatory satellite launched in February 2014 and is currently operational, while its predecessor the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ( TRMM ) satellite was operational from 1998 to 2015. GPM pursues a unique and innovative approach to measuring precipitation from space through collection of observations by both active and passive sensors, which are then converted into quantitative precipitation estimates. These datasets are used by scientists for analysis and research that leads to new scientific discoveries, and are used by operational agencies for real-time societal applications. The NASA Precipitation Measurement Missions Science Team conducts scientific research on a wide range of areas including precipitation and latent heating algorithm development, ground validation and integrated science applications.

Seeing Through the Clouds

Conventional weather satellites have the ability to measure visible and infrared light and so can detect and monitor clouds over vast regions, including over oceans and other regions where conventional weather data is sparse, both day and night.  They can also be used to quantify their size and coverage as well as estimate cloud heights.  However, they still lack the ability to see deep within clouds where the precipitation is; TRMM and GPM changed that.  With their active radars, TRMM and GPM gave scientists the ability to examine the detailed precipitation structures of clouds and cloud systems over much of the globe.  Foremost among these being tropical cyclones. TRMM and GPM have allowed us to examine the inner structure of a great many storms in relation to their intensity and environment and have strengthened our understanding of hurricane dynamics, in particular the relation between “hot towers” and storm intensification.  

At 1 PM EDT (1700 UTC) on September 5, 2017, the radar onboard the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) satellite captured this 3D view of the heat engine inside of category-5 Hurricane Irma. Under the central ring of clouds that circles the eye, water that had evaporated from the ocean surface condenses, releases heat, and powers the circling winds of the hurricane. The radar on the GPM satellite is able to estimate how much water is falling as precipitation inside of the hurricane, which serves as a guide to how much energy is being released inside the hurricane's central "heat engine." Learn more.  Credit: NASA / Owen Kelley

Another important class of storms are mesoscale convective systems, or MCS's. An MCS is a grouping of thunderstorms ranging in size from tens to several hundred kilometers in length that can last for a few hours or more and propagate over great distances. Typically they contain two distinct regions: a convective region containing heavier precipitation and active thunderstorms, and a sometimes broad stratiform region of lighter more uniform rain.  Not only can the rainfall from these systems lead to dangerous flooding over short periods with significant social and economic impacts, but it can also provide an important contribution to the annual rainfall for a given region.  Rainfall estimates derived from GPM and TRMM, coupled with the ability to characterize that rainfall have allowed us to quantify the climatological contribution of MCS precipitation to the annual water budget at different scales across the Earth. 

TRMM was revolutionary in its ability to observe storms within the tropics. Not only did it provide important information about the structure and intensity of rain storms in the tropics, it filled a critical gap in our observations, namely a comprehensive estimate of the amount and type of rain falling over the global tropics.  By linking this rainfall data with the corresponding latent heat released, it also furthered our understanding of how energy moving through the tropics and sub-tropics impacts atmospheric circulations throughout the globe.

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission expands our observational capabilities beyond the tropics and subtropics to higher latitudes.  GPM gives us the ability to sample a wider variety of storms from not only tropical and subtropical regions but also extratropical and post tropical, including mid and high latitude snow events over both the land and ocean, including those outside the range of conventional radar networks. Just as TRMM gave us a unique perspective for studying tropical cyclones, GPM now brings that same ability to penetrate through the clouds and examine the detailed precipitation structures of higher latitude extratropical storms. GPM maintains the ability to study tropical cyclones and now includes those that transition to post tropical storms beyond the tropics.  As with TRMM, GPM allows us to obtain comprehensive precipitation estimates in addition to providing detailed looks at storm precipitation structures and characteristics. With the enhanced sensitivity of its Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar ( DPR ) allowing us to measure lighter precipitation, GPM allows us to improve these estimates and expand them well beyond the tropics to higher latitudes. This gives us a more complete and accurate description of the Earth’s precipitation budget.

Learn more:

• GPM Applications for Weather
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How Water Moves

The water cycle describes the movement of water over, above and below the Earth’s surface.  Water can easily change between any of its three states: vapor, liquid and ice. Its phase transitions among the gaseous, liquid and solid states dominate the behavior of the weather, climate and environmental systems. The way water moves between all three phases is a powerful vehicle for rearranging Earth’s energy budget. In addition, the bulk movement of water by precipitation, infiltration, transpiration, runoff and subsurface flow redistributes water around the globe.

Diagram of Earth's water cycle. Learn more on the Precipitation Education website.  Credit: NASA GPM

Key to the connection between water and energy cycles is how the solar radiation affects the atmosphere. The direct contribution from the sun explains only about 25% of the energy in global atmospheric dynamics. The other 75% is transferred to the atmosphere through the evaporation of water from the surface, primarily from the oceans. This water vapor then condenses into clouds and in doing so, releases its latent heat into the atmosphere. This latent heat drives atmospheric circulation, playing a major role not only in cloud formation and storm development, but in the large-scale movement of air around the world. TRMM created the first reliable global latent heating estimates ever made by measuring the profile of rain as it falls through the sky, as a function of altitude.

GPM provides for combined radar / radiometer estimates of both precipitation rates and the 3D characteristics and structure or precipitation. This allows us to estimate the three dimensional latent heating structures of precipitation systems and their microphysics as well as their surface water fluxes. The enhanced measurement and sampling capabilities of GPM help us understand how precipitation patterns change over time across local, regional and global scales. These patterns translate into changes in hydrologic fluxes and states (e.g, runoff, evapotranspiration, soil moisture and groundwater recharge) both directly and in combination with land process models.

By providing more accurate estimates of the rate of transfer of water from the atmosphere to the surface, GPM reduces a significant source of uncertainty in the global water/energy budget. Scientists combine GPM observations with land surface data to provide better estimates of soil moisture, leading to better predictions of vegetation cover, weather forecasts and integrated hydrologic models.

• GPM Applicatinos for Water &  Agriculture
• GPM Applications for Ecology
• GPM Applications for Health
• Precipitation Education: The Water Cycle
• Texas A&M Catalog of Precipitation Features

Trends & Patterns

The distribution of the world’s rainfall is shifting as our climate changes. Wet areas may become wetter, dry areas drier, storms more intense, leading to more chaotic weather around the world. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2011), an increase in the average global temperature is very likely to lead to changes in precipitation and atmospheric moisture, including shifts towards more extreme precipitation during storms.

As the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) becomes warmer, evaporation rates increase, which leads to an increase in the amount of moisture circulating. When the troposphere has more moisture, more intense precipitation occurs, thus potentially triggering more flooding over land.  Conversely in other areas, warmer temperatures may lead to increased drying accelerating the onset of drought.

Average annual rainfall (mm/year) for June 2000 - May 2019 computed using the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) "Late Run" data product.

To predict future changes in climate, scientists use very sophisticated computer models that rely on available global data to describe climate as it is today and project how it may behave in the future. The key information offered by both TRMM and GPM helps scientists more accurately estimate the rate of water transfer within the Earth's atmosphere and on the surface. It also reconciles the different parts of the overall water budget. By providing measurements of surface water fluxes, cloud/precipitation microphysics and latent heat release in the atmosphere, GPM advances Earth system modeling and analysis. More accurate global precipitation estimates improve the accuracy and effectiveness of climate models and advance understanding of climate sensitivity and future climatic change.

• GPM IMERG Precipitation Climatology Data & Visualizations
• Texas A&M TRMM Climatology

Raindrop Shapes

TRMM’s Precipitation Radar ( PR ) was the first space-borne radar to observe rain drop characteristics through the atmosphere. These measurements yielded invaluable information on the intensity and distribution of the rain, the type of rain, the height of the storm and the altitude at which falling snow melts into rain. Estimates of the heat released into the atmosphere at different heights based on these measurements are valuable for improving the models used to simulate  Earth’s atmospheric circulation.

Not all raindrops are created equal. The size of falling raindrops depends on several factors, including where the cloud producing the drops is located on the globe and where the drops originate in the cloud. For the first time, scientists have three-dimensional snapshots of raindrops and snowflakes around the world from space, thanks to the joint NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. With the new global data on raindrop and snowflake sizes this mission provides, scientists can improve rainfall estimates from satellite data and in numerical weather forecast models, helping us better understand and prepare for extreme weather events.

Download this video in high resolution from the NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio

GPM’s Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar ( DPR ) adds a second frequency to its radar instrument which provides more accurate precipitation information and improves our ability to look at raindrop characteristics, including structure, intensity and related microphysical processes throughout the atmospheric column. Information on the distribution and size of precipitation particles, together with microwave radiometer information, improves the accuracy of rain and snowfall estimates. DPR measurements offer insight into the microphysical processes of precipitation, including evaporation, collision / coalescence and aggregation, among others, and helps to distinguish between regions of rain, snow and sleet. They also allow us to obtain bulk precipitation properties such as intensity, water fluxes and columnar water content. GPM’s advanced instruments significantly improve our ability to detect light rain and falling snow and are helping us investigate potential links between rainfall and human impacts on the environment such as pollution and urban environments.

• Remote Sensing Fundamentals and Precipitation Algorithms

GPM Supports the IMPACTS Airborne Campaign to Study Snowfall

Thunderstorms Rumble over the Great Plains

Watching Thunderstorms March Across Lake Victoria

IMERG Sees a Dry September

Observing the ITCZ with IMERG

Measuring Latent Heating in Storm Systems

Finding Strong Storms with TRMM & GPM

TMPA Shows El Niño Conditions in the Pacific

Top 5 GPM Research Highlights

GPM Gets Flake-y

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Research at NSSL

Severe weather has touched every state in the United States. Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires, floods and droughts are very real threats to our property and our lives. NSSL researchers work to observe, understand and predict severe weather in ways that will help our partners save lives and reduce property damage.

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At NSSL we study all types of thunderstorms including supercell thunderstorms, mesoscale convective systems, quasi-linear convective systems and bow-echoes. We also study their environment and their life-cycle.

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Much about tornadoes remains a mystery. They are rare, unpredictable and deadly. The U.S. has more tornadoes than anywhere else in the world. NSSL scientists study the lifecycles of tornadoes, why some supercells produce tornadoes and others do not, and what exactly causes a tornado to form. We also look for ways to improve tornado warning accuracy and lead-time.

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Straight-line winds are responsible for most of the damage from thunderstorms. These winds can cause as much destruction as a strong tornado. NSSL works to better understand the thunderstorms that produce damaging winds, so the NWS can make better predictions and warnings for them.

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NSSL researchers work to understand and provide the weather information society needs. NSSL social science research directly involves emergency managers, broadcast meteorologists, and operational forecasters, in addition to the United States public, to assure innovations in weather research are holistically integrated into the weather communication system.

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Heat waves: a hot topic in climate change research

Werner marx.

1 Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstr. 1, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany

Robin Haunschild

Lutz bornmann.

2 Science Policy and Strategy Department, Max Planck Society, Administrative Headquarters, Hofgartenstr. 8, 80539 Munich, Germany

Associated Data

Not applicable.

Research on heat waves (periods of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity) is a newly emerging research topic within the field of climate change research with high relevance for the whole of society. In this study, we analyzed the rapidly growing scientific literature dealing with heat waves. No summarizing overview has been published on this literature hitherto. We developed a suitable search query to retrieve the relevant literature covered by the Web of Science (WoS) as complete as possible and to exclude irrelevant literature ( n  = 8,011 papers). The time evolution of the publications shows that research dealing with heat waves is a highly dynamic research topic, doubling within about 5 years. An analysis of the thematic content reveals the most severe heat wave events within the recent decades (1995 and 2003), the cities and countries/regions affected (USA, Europe, and Australia), and the ecological and medical impacts (drought, urban heat islands, excess hospital admissions, and mortality). An alarming finding is that the limit for survivability may be reached at the end of the twenty-first century in many regions of the world due to the fatal combination of rising temperatures and humidity levels measured as “wet-bulb temperature” (WBT). Risk estimation and future strategies for adaptation to hot weather are major political issues. We identified 104 citation classics, which include fundamental early works of research on heat waves and more recent works (which are characterized by a relatively strong connection to climate change).

Introduction

As a consequence of the well-documented phenomenon of global warming, climate change has become a major research field in the natural and medical sciences, and more recently also in the social and political sciences. The scientific community has contributed extensively to a comprehensive understanding of the earth’s climate system, providing various data and projections on the future climate as well as on the effects and risks of anticipated global warming (IPCC 2014; CSSR 2017; NCA4 2018; and the multitude of references cited therein). During recent decades, climate change has also become a major political, economic, and environmental issue and a central theme in political and public debates.

One consequence of global warming is the increase of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, and wildfires. Some severe heat waves occurring within the last few decades made heat waves a hot topic in climate change research, with “hot” having a dual meaning: high temperature and high scientific activity. “More intense, more frequent, and longer lasting heat waves in the twenty-first century” is the title of a highly cited paper published 2004 in Science (Meehl and Tebaldi 2004 ). This title summarizes in short what most climate researchers anticipate for the future. But what are heat waves (formerly also referred to as “heatwaves”)? In general, a heat wave is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. Since heat waves vary according to region, there is no universal definition, but only definitions relative to the usual weather in the area and relative to normal temperatures for the season. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) defines a heat wave as 5 or more consecutive days of prolonged heat in which the daily maximum temperature is higher than the average maximum temperature by 5 °C (9 °F) or more ( https://www.britannica.com/science/heat-wave-meteorology ).

Europe, for example, has suffered from a series of intense heat waves since the beginning of the twenty-first century. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and various national reports, the extreme 2003 heat wave caused about 70,000 excess deaths, primarily in France and Italy. The 2010 heat wave in Russia caused extensive crop loss, numerous wildfires, and about 55,000 excess deaths (many in the city of Moscow). Heat waves typically occur when high pressure systems become stationary and the winds on their rear side continuously pump hot and humid air northeastward, resulting in extreme weather conditions. The more intense and more frequently occurring heat waves cannot be explained solely by natural climate variations and without human-made climate change (IPCC 2014; CSSR 2017; NCA4 2018). Scientists discuss a weakening of the polar jet stream caused by global warming as a possible reason for an increasing probability for the occurrence of stationary weather, resulting in heavy rain falls or heat waves (Broennimann et al. 2009 ; Coumou et al. 2015 ; Mann 2019 ). This jet stream is one of the most important factors for the weather in the middle latitude regions of North America, Europe, and Asia.

Until the end of the twentieth century, heat waves were predominantly seen as a recurrent meteorological fact with major attention to drought, being almost independent from human activities and unpredictable like earthquakes. However, since about 1950, distinct changes in extreme climate and weather events have been increasingly observed. Meanwhile, climate change research has revealed that these changes are clearly linked to the human influence on the content of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. Climate-related extremes, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, and wildfires, reveal significant vulnerability to climate change as a result of global warming.

In recent years, research on heat waves has been established as an emerging research topic within the large field of current climate change research. Bibliometric analyses are very suitable in order to have a systematic and quantitative overview of the literature that can be assigned to an emerging topic such as research dealing with heat waves (e.g., Haunschild et al. 2016 ). No summarizing overview on the entire body of heat wave literature has been published until now. However, a bibliometric analysis of research on urban heat islands as a more specific topic in connection with heat waves has been performed (Huang and Lu 2018 ).

In this study, we analyzed the publications dealing with heat waves using appropriate bibliometric methods and tools. First, we determined the amount and time evolution of the scientific literature dealing with heat waves. The countries contributing the most papers are presented. Second, we analyzed the thematic content of the publications via keywords assigned by the WoS. Third, we identified the most important (influential) publications (and also the historical roots). We identified 104 citation classics, which include fundamental early works and more recent works with a stronger connection to climate change.

Heat waves as a research topic

The status of the current knowledge on climate change is summarized in the Synthesis Report of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (IPCC 2014, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ ). This panel is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. The Synthesis Report is based on the reports of the three IPCC Working Groups , including relevant Special Reports . In its Summary for Policymakers , it provides an integrated view of climate change as the final part of the Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC 2014, https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/AR5_SYR_FINAL_SPM.pdf ).

In the chapter Extreme Events , it is stated that “changes in many extreme weather and climate events have been observed since about 1950. Some of these changes have been linked to human influences, including a decrease in cold temperature extremes, an increase in warm temperature extremes, an increase in extreme high sea levels and an increase in the number of heavy precipitation events in a number of regions … It is very likely that the number of cold days and nights has decreased and the number of warm days and nights has increased on the global scale. It is likely that the frequency of heat waves has increased in large parts of Europe, Asia and Australia. It is very likely that human influence has contributed to the observed global scale changes in the frequency and intensity of daily temperature extremes since the mid-twentieth century. It is likely that human influence has more than doubled the probability of occurrence of heat waves in some locations” (p. 7–8). Under Projected Changes , the document summarizes as follows: “Surface temperature is projected to rise over the twenty-first century under all assessed emission scenarios. It is very likely that heat waves will occur more often and last longer, and that extreme precipitation events will become more intense and frequent in many regions” (p. 10).

With regard to the USA, the Climate Science Special Report of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (CSSR 2017, https://science2017.globalchange.gov/ ) mentions quite similar observations and states unambiguously in its Fourth National Climate Assessment (Volume I) report ( https://science2017.globalchange.gov/downloads/CSSR2017_FullReport.pdf ) under Observed Changes in Extremes that “the frequency of cold waves has decreased since the early 1900s, and the frequency of heat waves has increased since the mid-1960s (very high confidence). The frequency and intensity of extreme heat and heavy precipitation events are increasing in most continental regions of the world (very high confidence). These trends are consistent with expected physical responses to a warming climate [p. 19]. Heavy precipitation events in most parts of the United States have increased in both intensity and frequency since 1901 (high confidence) [p. 20]. There are important regional differences in trends, with the largest increases occurring in the northeastern United States (high confidence). Recent droughts and associated heat waves have reached record intensity in some regions of the United States … (very high confidence) [p. 21]. Confidence in attribution findings of anthropogenic influence is greatest for extreme events that are related to an aspect of temperature” (p. 123).

Among the key findings in the chapter on temperature changes in the USA, the report states that “there have been marked changes in temperature extremes across the contiguous United States. The frequency of cold waves has decreased since the early 1900s, and the frequency of heat waves has increased since the mid-1960s (very high confidence). Extreme temperatures in the contiguous United States are projected to increase even more than average temperatures. The temperatures of extremely cold days and extremely warm days are both expected to increase. Cold waves are projected to become less intense while heat waves will become more intense (very high confidence) [p. 185]. Most of this methodology as applied to extreme weather and climate event attribution, has evolved since the European heat wave study of Stott et al.” (p. 128).

Heat waves are also discussed in the Fourth National Climate Assessment (Volume II) report (NCA4 2018, https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/ ). The Report-in-Brief ( https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/downloads/NCA4_Report-in-Brief.pdf ) for example states: “More frequent and severe heat waves and other extreme events in many parts of the United States are expected [p. 38]. Heat waves and heavy rainfalls are expected to increase in frequency and intensity [p. 93]. The season length of heat waves in many U.S. cities has increased by over 40 days since the 1960s [p. 30]. Cities across the Southeast are experiencing more and longer summer heat waves [p. 123]. Exposure to hotter temperatures and heat waves already leads to heat-associated deaths in Arizona and California. Mortality risk during a heat wave is amplified on days with high levels of ground-level ozone or particulate air pollution” (p. 150).

In summary, climate change research expects more frequent and more severe heat wave events as a consequence of global warming. It is likely that the more frequent and longer lasting heat waves will significantly increase excess mortality, particularly in urban regions with high air pollution. Therefore, research around heat waves will become increasingly important and is much more than a temporary research fashion.

Methodology

Dataset used.

This analysis is based on the relevant literature retrieved from the following databases accessible under the Web of Science (WoS) of Clarivate Analytics: Web of Science Core Collection: Citation Indexes, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI), Conference Proceedings Citation Index—Science (CPCI-S), Conference Proceedings Citation Index—Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH), Book Citation Index—Science (BKCI-S), Book Citation Index—Social Sciences & Humanities (BKCI-SSH), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).

We applied the search query given in Appendix 1 to cover the relevant literature as completely as possible and to exclude irrelevant literature. We practiced an iterative query optimization by identifying and excluding the WoS subject categories with most of the non-relevant papers. For example, heat waves are also mentioned in the field of materials science but have nothing to do with climate and weather phenomena. Unfortunately, WoS obviously assigned some heat wave papers related to climate to materials science-related subject categories. Therefore, these subject categories were not excluded. By excluding the other non-relevant subject categories, 597 out of 8,568 papers have been removed, resulting in a preliminary publication set of 7,971 papers (#2 of the search query). But this is no safe method, since the excluded categories may well include some relevant papers. Therefore, we have combined these 597 papers with search terms related to climate or weather and retrieved 62 relevant papers in addition, which we added to our preliminary paper subset, eventually receiving 8,033 publications (#3 to #5 of the search query).

Commonly, publication sets for bibliometric analyses are limited to articles, reviews, and conference proceedings as the most relevant document types and are restricted to complete publication years. In this study, however, we have included all relevant WoS document types for a better literature coverage of the research topic analyzed. For example, conference meetings and early access papers may well be interesting for the content analysis of the literature under study. Such literature often anticipates important results, which are published later as regular articles. Furthermore, we have included the literature until the date of search for considering the recent rapid growth of the field. Our search retrieved a final publication set of 8,011 papers indexed in WoS until the date of search (July 1, 2021) and dealing with heat waves (#6 of the search query). We have combined this publication set with climate change-related search terms from a well-proven search query (Haunschild et al. 2016 ) resulting in 4,588 papers dealing with heat waves in connection with climate change or global warming (# 11 of the search query). Also, we have selected a subset of 2,373 papers dealing with heat waves and mortality (#13 of the search query). The complete WoS search query is given in Appendix 1.

The final publication set of 8,011 papers dealing with heat waves still contains some non-relevant papers primarily published during the first half of the twentieth century, such as some Nature papers within the WoS category Multidisciplinary Sciences . Since these papers are assigned only to this broad subject category and have no abstracts and no keywords included, they cannot be excluded using the WoS search and refinement functions. We do not expect any bias through these papers, because their keywords do not appear in our maps. Also, they normally contain very few (if any) cited references, which could bias/impact our reference analysis.

We used the VOSviewer software (Van Eck and Waltman 2010 ) to map co-authorship with regard to the countries of authors (88 countries considered) of the papers dealing with heat waves ( www.vosviewer.com ). The map of the cooperating countries presented is based on the number of joint publications. The distance between two nodes is proportionate to the number of co-authored papers. Hence, largely cooperating countries are positioned closer to each other. The size of the nodes is proportionate to the number of papers published by authors of the specific countries.

The method that we used for revealing the thematic content of the publication set retrieved from the WoS is based on the analysis of keywords. For better standardization, we chose the keywords allocated by the database producer (keywords plus) rather than the author keywords. We also used the VOSviewer for mapping the thematic content of the 104 key papers selected by reference analysis. This map is also based on keywords plus.

The term maps (keywords plus) are based on co-occurrence for positioning the nodes on the maps. The distance between two nodes is proportionate to the co-occurrence of the terms. The size of the nodes is proportionate to the number of papers with a specific keyword. The nodes on the map are assigned by VOSviewer to clusters based on a specific cluster algorithm (the clusters are highlighted in different colors). These clusters identify closely related (frequently co-occurring) nodes, where each node is assigned to only one cluster.

Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy

A bibliometric method called “Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy” (RPYS, Marx et al. 2014 ) in combination with the tool CRExplorer ( http://www.crexplorer.net , Thor et al. 2016a , b ) has proven useful for exploring the cited references within a specific publication set, in order to detect the most important publications of the relevant research field (and also the historical roots). In recent years, several studies have been published, in which the RPYS method was basically described and applied (Marx et al. 2014 ; Marx and Bornmann 2016 ; Comins and Hussey 2015 ). In previous studies, Marx et al. have analyzed the roots of research on global warming (Marx et al. 2017a ), the emergence of climate change research in combination with viticulture (Marx et al. 2017b ), and tea production (Marx et al. 2017c ) from a quantitative (bibliometric) perspective. In this study, we determined which references have been most frequently cited by the papers dealing with heat waves.

RPYS is based on the assumption that peers produce a useful database by their publications, in particular by the references cited therein. This database can be analyzed statistically with regard to the works most important for their specific research field. Whereas individual scientists judge their research field more or less subjectively, the overall community can deliver a more objective picture (based on the principle of “the wisdom of the crowds”). The peers effectively “vote” via their cited references on which works turned out to be most important for their research field (Bornmann and Marx 2013 ). RPYS implies a normalization of citation counts (here: reference counts) with regard to the research area and the time of publication, which both impact the probability to be cited frequently. Basically, the citing and cited papers analyzed were published in the same research field and the reference counts are compared with each other only within the same publication year.

RPYS relies on the following observation: the analysis of the publication years of the references cited by all the papers in a specific research topic shows that publication years are not equally represented. Some years occur particularly frequently among the cited references. Such years appear as distinct peaks in the distribution of the reference publication years (i.e., the RPYS spectrogram). The pronounced peaks are frequently based on a few references that are more frequently cited than other references published in the same year. The frequently cited references are—as a rule—of specific significance to the research topic in question (here: heat waves) and the earlier references among them represent its origins and intellectual roots (Marx et al. 2014 ).

The RPYS changes the perspective of citation analysis from a times cited to a cited reference analysis (Marx and Bornmann 2016 ). RPYS does not identify the most highly cited papers of the publication set being studied (as is usually done by bibliometric analyses in research evaluation). RPYS aims to mirror the knowledge base of research (here: on heat waves).

With time, the body of scientific literature of many research fields is growing rapidly, particularly in climate change research (Haunschild et al. 2016 ). The growth rate of highly dynamic research topics such as research related to heat waves is even larger. As a consequence, the number of potentially citable papers is growing substantially. Toward the present, the peaks of individual publications lie over a broad continuum of newer publications and are less numerous and less pronounced. Due to the many publications cited in the more recent years, the proportion of individual highly cited publications in specific reference publication years falls steadily. Therefore, the distinct peaks in an RPYS spectrogram reveal only the most highly cited papers, in particular the earlier references comprising the historical roots. Further inspection and establishing a more entire and representative list of highly cited works requires consulting the reference table provided by the CRExplorer. The most important references within a specific reference publication year can be identified by sorting the cited references according to the reference publication year (RPY) and subsequently according to the number of cited references (N_CR) in a particular publication year.

The selection of important references in RPYS requires the consideration of two opposing trends: (1) the strongly growing number of references per reference publication year and (2) the fall off near present due to the fact that the newest papers had not sufficient time to accumulate higher citation counts. Therefore, we decided to set different limits for the minimum number of cited references for different periods of reference publication years (1950–1999: N_CR ≥ 50, 2000–2014: N_CR ≥ 150, 2015–2020: N_CR ≥ 100). This is somewhat arbitrary, but is helpful in order to adapt and limit the number of cited references to be presented and discussed.

In order to apply RPYS, all cited references ( n  = 408,247) of 216,932 unique reference variants have been imported from the papers of our publication set on heat waves ( n  = 8,011). The cited reference publication years range from 1473 to 2021. We removed all references (297 different cited reference variants) with reference publication years prior to 1900. Due to the very low output of heat wave-related papers published before 1990, no relevant literature published already in the nineteenth century can be expected. Also, global warming was no issue before 1900 since the Little Ice Age (a medieval cold period) lasted until the nineteenth century. The references were sorted according to RPY and N_CR for further inspection.

The CRExplorer offers the possibility to cluster and merge variants of the same cited reference (Thor et al. 2016a , b ). We clustered and merged the associated reference variants in our dataset (which are mainly caused by misspelled references) using the corresponding CRExplorer module, clustering the reference variants via volume and page numbers and subsequently merging aggregated 374 cited references (for more information on using the CRExplorer see “guide and datasets” at www.crexplorer.net ).

After clustering and merging, we applied a further cutback: to focus the RPYS on the most pronounced peaks, we removed all references ( n  = 212,324) with reference counts below 10 (resulting in a final number of 3,937 cited references) for the detection of the most frequently cited works. A minimum reference count of 10 has proved to be reasonable, in particular for early references (Marx et al. 2014 ). The cited reference publication years now range from 1932 to 2020.

In this study, we have considered all relevant WoS document types for a preferably comprehensive coverage of the literature of the research topic analyzed. The vast majority of the papers of our publication set, however, have been assigned to the document types “article” ( n  = 6.738, 84.1%), “proceedings paper” ( n  = 485, 6.1%), and “review” ( n  = 395 papers, 4.9%). Note that some papers belong to more than one document type.

Time evolution of literature

In Fig.  1 , the time evolution between 1990 and 2020 of the publications dealing with heat waves is shown (there are only 109 pre-1990 publications dealing with heat waves and covered by the WoS).

Time evolution of the overall number of heat wave publications, of heat wave publications in connection with climate change, and of heat wave publications in connection with mortality, each between 1990 and 2020. For comparison, the overall number of publications (scaled down) in the field of climate change research and the total number of publications covered by the WoS database (scaled down, too) are included

According to Fig.  1 , research dealing with heat waves is a highly dynamic research topic, currently doubling within about 5 years. The number of papers published per year shows a strong increase: since around 2000, the publication output increased by a factor of more than thirty, whereas in the same period, the overall number of papers covered by the WoS increased only by a factor of around three. Also, the portion of heat wave papers dealing with climate change increased substantially: from 16.1 in the period 1990–1999 to 25.7% in 2000, reaching 66.9% in 2020. The distinct decrease of the overall number of papers covered by the WoS between 2019 and 2020 might be a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With regard to the various impacts of heat waves, excess mortality is one of the most frequently analyzed and discussed issues in the scientific literature (see below). Whereas the subject specific literature on heat waves increased from 2000 to 2020 by a factor of 33.6, literature on heat waves dealing with mortality increased from 2000 to 2020 by a factor of 51.5. The dynamics of the research topic dealing with heat waves is mirrored by the WoS Citation Report , which shows the time evolution of the overall citation impact of the papers of the publication set (not presented). The citation report curve shows no notable citation impact before 2005, corresponding to the increase of the publication rate since about 2003 as shown in Fig.  1 .

Countries of authors

In Table ​ Table1, 1 , the number of papers assigned to the countries of authors with more than 100 publications dealing with heat waves is presented, showing the national part of research activities on this research topic. For comparative purposes, the percentage of overall papers in WoS of each country is shown. As a comparison with the overall WoS, we only considered WoS papers published between 2000 and 2020, because the heat wave literature started to grow substantially around 2000.

Top countries of authors with more than 100 papers dealing with heat waves up to the date of the search

The country-specific percentages from Table ​ Table1 1 are visualized in Fig.  2 . Selected countries are labeled. Countries with a higher relative percentage of more than two percentage points in heat wave research than in WoS overall output are marked blue (blue circle). Countries with a relative percentage at least twice as high in heat wave research than in overall WoS output are marked green (green cross), whereas countries with a relative percentage at most half as much in heat wave research than in overall WoS output are marked with a yellow cross. Only Japan has a much lower output in heat wave research than in WoS overall output, as indicated by the red circle and yellow cross. Most countries are clustered around the bisecting line and are marked gray (gray circle). China and the USA are outside of the plot region. Both countries are rather close to the bisecting line. Some European countries show a much larger activity in heat wave research than in overall WoS output. Australia shows the largest difference and ratio in output percentages as shown by the blue circle and green cross.

Publication percentages of countries in Table ​ Table1. 1 . Countries with large deviations between heat wave output and overall WoS output are labeled. Countries with an absolute percentage of more than two percentage points higher (lower) in heat wave research than in overall WoS output are marked blue (red). Countries with a relative percentage at least twice as high (at most half as much) in heat wave research than in overall WoS output are marked green (yellow)

The results mainly follow the expectations of such bibliometric analyses, with one distinct exception: Australia increasingly suffers from extreme heat waves and is comparatively active in heat wave research—compared with its proportion of scientific papers in general. The growth factor of the Australian publication output since 2010 is 8.5, compared to 5.3 for the USA and 3.3 for Germany.

Figure  3 shows the co-authorship network with regard to the countries of authors of the papers dealing with heat waves using the VOSviewer software.

Co-authorship overlay map with regard to the countries of authors and their average publication years from the 8,011 papers dealing with heat waves. The minimum number of co-authored publications of a country is 5; papers with more than 25 contributing countries are neglected; of the 135 countries, 89 meet the threshold, and 88 out of 89 countries are connected and are considered (one country, Armenia, that is disconnected from the network has been removed). The co-authorship network of a single country can be depicted by clicking on the corresponding node in the interactive map. Readers interested in an in-depth analysis can use VOSviewer interactively and zoom into the map via the following URL: https://tinyurl.com/3ywkwv8t

According to Fig.  3 and in accordance with Table ​ Table1, 1 , the USA is most productive in heat wave research. This is not unexpected, because the US publication output is at the top for most research fields. However, this aside, the USA has been heavily affected by heat wave events and is leading with regard to the emergence of the topic. Australia appears as another major player and is strongly connected with the US publications within the co-authorship network and thus appears as a large node near the US node in the map. Next, the leading European countries England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain appear.

The overlay version of the map includes the time evolution of the research activity in the form of coloring of the nodes. The map shows the mean publication year of the publications for each specific author country. As a consequence, the time span of the mean publication years ranges only from 2014 to 2018. Nevertheless, the early activity in France and the USA and the comparatively recent activity in Australia and China, with the European countries in between, become clearly visible.

Topics of the heat wave literature

Figure  4 shows the keywords (keywords plus) map for revealing the thematic content of our publication set using the VOSviewer software. This analysis is based on the complete publication set ( n  = 8,011). The minimum number of occurrences of keywords is 10; of the 10,964 keywords, 718 keywords met the threshold. For each of the 718 keywords, the total strength of the co-occurrence links with other keywords was calculated. The keywords with the greatest total link strength were selected for presentation in the map.

Co-occurrence network map of the keywords plus from the 8,011 papers dealing with heat waves for a rough analysis of the thematic content. The minimum number of occurrences of keywords is 10; of the 10,964 keywords, 718 meet the threshold. Readers interested in an in-depth analysis can use VOSviewer interactively and zoom into the map via the following URL: https://tinyurl.com/enrdbw

According to Fig.  4 , the major keywords are the following: climate change, temperature, mortality, impact, heat waves (searched), and variability. The colored clusters identify closely related (frequently co-occurring) nodes. The keywords marked red roughly originate from fundamental climate change research focused on the hydrological cycle (particularly on drought), the keywords of the green cluster are around heat waves and moisture or precipitation, the keywords marked blue result from research concerning impacts of heat waves on health, the keywords marked yellow are focused on the various other impacts of heat waves, and the keywords of the magenta cluster are around adaptation and vulnerability in connection with heat waves.

The clustering by the VOSviewer algorithm provides basic categorizations, but many related keywords also appear in different clusters. For example, severe heat wave events are marked in different colors. For a better overview of the thematic content of the publications dealing with heat waves, we have assigned the keywords of Fig.  4 (with a minimum number of occurrences of 50) to ten subject categories (each arranged in the order of occurrence):

• Countries/regions: United-States, Europe, France, China, Pacific, Australia, London, England
• Cities: cities, city, US cities, Chicago, communities
• Events: 2003 heat-wave, 1995 heat-wave
• Impacts: impact, impacts, air-pollution, drought, soil-moisture, exposure, heat-island, urban, islands, photosynthesis, pollution, heat-island, air-quality, environment, precipitation extremes, biodiversity, emissions
• Politics: risk, responses, vulnerability, adaptation, management, mitigation, risk-factors, scenarios
• Biology: vegetation, forest, diversity, stomatal conductance
• Medicine: mortality, health, stress, deaths, morbidity, hospital admissions, public-health, thermal comfort, population, heat, sensitivity, human health, disease, excess mortality, heat-stress, heat-related mortality, comfort, behavior, death, stroke
• Climate research: climate change, temperature, climate, model, simulation, energy, projections, simulations, cmip5, ozone, el-nino, parametrization, elevated CO 2 , models, climate variability, carbon, carbon-dioxide
• Meteorology: heat waves, variability, precipitation, summer, heat-wave, weather, ambient-temperature, waves, extremes, wave, cold, water, rainfall, circulation, heat, air-temperature, extreme heat, climate extremes, heatwaves, temperature extremes, temperatures, temperature variability, high-temperature, ocean, extreme temperatures, atmospheric circulation, interannual variability, sea-surface temperature, oscillation, surface temperature, surface
• Broader terms (multi-meaning): trends, events, patterns, growth, performance, time-series, indexes, system, dynamics, association, index, tolerance, productivity, ensemble, resilience, increase, quality, prediction, frequency, particulate matter, future, framework, 20 th -century, time, reanalysis, systems

Although allocated by the database provider, the keywords are not coherent. For example, the same keyword may appear as singular or plural, and complex keywords are written with and without hyphens.

In order to compare the thematic content of the complete publication set with the earlier literature on heat waves, we have analyzed the pre-2000 publications ( n  = 297) separately. Figure  5 shows the keywords (keywords plus) map for revealing the thematic content of the pre-2000 papers.

Co-occurrence network map of the keywords plus from the 297 pre-2000 papers dealing with heat waves for a rough analysis of the thematic content. The minimum number of occurrences of keywords is 1; of the 389 keywords, 277 keywords are connected, and all items are shown. Readers interested in an in-depth analysis can use VOSviewer interactively and zoom into the map via the following URL: https://tinyurl.com/u2zzr399

The major nodes in Fig.  5 are heat waves (searched), temperature, United States, and mortality, with climate change appearing only as a smaller node here. Obviously, the connection between heat waves and climate change was not yet pronounced, which can also be seen from Fig.  1 . Compared with Fig.  4 , the thematic content of the clusters is less clear and the clusters presented in Fig.  5 can hardly be assigned to specific research areas. For a better overview of the thematic content of the early publications dealing with heat waves, we have assigned the connected keywords of Fig.  5 to seven subject categories:

• Countries/regions: United-States, Great-Plains
• Cities: St-Louis, Athens, Chicago
• Events: 1980 heat-wave, 1995 heat-wave
• Impacts: impacts, responses, drought, precipitation, comfort, sultriness
• Climate research: climate, climate change, model, temperature, variability
• Medicine: cardiovascular deaths, mortality, air pollution
• Meteorology: atmospheric flow, weather, heat, humidity index

Important publications

Figures  6 – 8 show the results of the RPYS analysis performed with the CRExplorer and present the distribution of the number of cited references across the reference publication years. Figure  6 shows the RPYS spectrogram of the full range of reference publication years since 1925. Figure  7 presents the spectrogram for the reference publication year period 1950–2000 for better resolving the historical roots. Figure  8 shows the spectrogram for the period 2000–2020, comprising the cited references from the bulk of the publication set analyzed.

Annual distribution of cited references throughout the time period 1925–2020, which have been cited in heat wave-related papers (published between 1964 and 2020). Only references with a minimum reference count of 10 are considered

Annual distribution of cited references throughout the time period 1950–2000, which have been cited in heat wave-related papers (published between 1972 and 2020). Only references with a minimum reference count of 10 are considered

Annual distribution of cited references throughout the time period 2000–2020, which have been cited in heat wave-related papers (published between 2000 and 2020). Only references with a minimum reference count of 10 are considered

The gray bars (Fig.  6 ) and red lines (Figs. ​ (Figs.7 7 – 8 ) in the graphs visualize the number of cited references per reference publication year. In order to identify those publication years with significantly more cited references than other years, the (absolute) deviation of the number of cited references in each year from the median of the number of cited references in the two previous, the current, and the two following years (t − 2; t − 1; t; t + 1; t + 2) is also visualized (blue lines). This deviation from the 5-year median provides a curve smoother than the one in terms of absolute numbers. We inspected both curves for the identification of the peak papers.

Which papers are most important for the scientific community performing research on heat waves? We use the number of cited references (N_CR) as a measure of the citation impact within the topic-specific literature of our publication set. N_CR should not be confused with the overall number of citations of the papers as given by the WoS citation counts (times cited). These citation counts are based on all citing papers covered by the complete database (rather than a topic-specific publication set) and are usually much higher.

Applying the selection criteria mentioned above (minimum number of cited references between 50 and 150 in three different periods), 104 references have been selected as key papers (important papers most frequently referenced within the research topic analyzed) and are presented in Table ​ Table2 2 in Appendix 2. The peak papers corresponding to reference publication years below about 2000 can be seen as the historical roots of the research topic analyzed. Since around 2000, the number of references with the same publication year becomes increasingly numerous, usually with more than one highly referenced (cited) paper at the top. Although there are comparatively fewer distinct peaks visible in the RPYS spectrogram of Fig.  8 , the most frequently referenced papers can easily be identified via the CRE reference listing. Depending on the specific skills and needs (i.e., the expert knowledge and the intended depth of the analysis), the number of top-referenced papers considered key papers can be defined individually.

Listing of the key papers ( n  = 104) revealed by RPYS via CRE ( RPY reference publication year, N_CR number of cited references, Title title of the cited reference, DOI allows easily to retrieve the full paper via WoS or Internet)

*N_TOP10 > 9; the N_TOP10 indicator is the number of reference publication years in which a focal cited reference belongs to the 10% most referenced publications.

Table ​ Table2 2 lists the first authors and titles of the 104 key papers selected, their number of cited references (N_CR), and the DOIs for easy access. Some N_CR values are marked by an asterisk, indicating a high value of the N_TOP10 indicator implemented in the CRExplorer. The N_TOP10 indicator value is the number of reference publication years in which a focal cited reference belongs to the 10% most referenced publications. In the case of about half of the cited references in Table ​ Table2 2 ( n  = 58), the N_TOP10 value exceeded a value of 9. The three highest values in our dataset are 24, 21, and 20.

Out of the 104 key papers from Table ​ Table2, 2 , 101 have a DOI of which we found 101 papers in the WoS. Three papers have no DOI but could be retrieved from WoS. The altogether 104 papers were exported and their keywords (keywords plus) were displayed in Fig.  9 for revealing the thematic content of the key papers from the RPYS analysis at a glance.

Co-occurrence network map of the keywords plus of the 104 key papers dealing with heat waves selected applying RPYS via CRE software and listed in Table ​ Table2. 2 . The minimum number of occurrences of keywords is 2; of the 310 keywords, 91 meet the threshold. Readers interested in an in-depth analysis can use VOSviewer interactively and zoom into the map via the following URL: https://tinyurl.com/4vwpc4t2

Overall, the keywords mapped in Fig.  9 are rather similar to the keywords presented in Fig.  4 . Besides climate change, temperature, weather, and air-pollution, the keywords deaths, health, mortality, and United-States appear as the most pronounced terms.

The key papers presented in Table ​ Table2 2 can be categorized as follows: (1) papers dealing with specific heat wave events, (2) the impact of heat waves on human health, (3) heat wave-related excess mortality and implications for prevention, (4) the interaction between air pollution and high temperature, (5) circulation pattern and the meteorological basis, (6) future perspectives and risks, and (7) climate models, indicators, and statistics.

Today, the hypothesis of a human-induced climate change is no longer abstract but has become a clear fact, at least for the vast majority of the scientific community (IPCC 2014; CSSR 2017; NCA4 2018; and the multitude of references cited therein). The consequences of a warmer climate are already obvious. The rapidly growing knowledge regarding the earth’s climate system has revealed the connection between global warming and extreme weather events. Heat waves impact people directly and tangibly and many people are pushing for political actions. Research on heat waves came up with the occurrence of some severe events in the second half of the twentieth century and was much stimulated by the more numerous, more intense, and longer lasting heat waves that have occurred since the beginning of the twenty-first century.

As already mentioned in Sect.  1 , the more intense and more frequently occurring heat waves cannot be explained solely by natural climate variations but only with human-made climate change. As a consequence, research on heat waves has become embedded into meteorology and climate change research and has aimed to understand the specific connection with global warming. Scientists discuss a weakening of the polar jet stream as a possible reason for an increasing probability for the occurrence of heat waves (e.g., Broennimann et al. 2009 ; Coumou et al. 2015 ; Mann 2019 ). Climate models are used for projections of temperature and rainfall variability in the future, based on various scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, the corresponding keywords appear in the maps of Figs. ​ Figs.4 4 and ​ and9. 9 . Also, the application of statistics plays a major role in the papers of our publication set; some of the most highly referenced (early) papers in Table ​ Table2 2 primarily deal with statistical methods. These methods provide the basis for research on heat waves.

Our analysis shows that research on heat waves has become extremely important in the medical area, since severe heat waves have caused significant excess mortality (e.g., Kalkstein and Davis 1989 ; Fouillet et al. 2006 ; Anderson and Bell 2009 , 2011 ). The most alarming is that the limit for survivability may be reached at the end of the twenty-first century in many regions of the world due to the fatal combination of rising temperatures and humidity levels (e.g., Pal and Eltahir 2016 ; Im et al. 2017 ; Kang and Eltahir 2018 ). The combination of heat and humidity is measured as the “wet-bulb temperature” (WBT), which is the lowest temperature that can be reached under current ambient conditions by the evaporation of water. At 100% relative humidity, the wet-bulb temperature is equal to the air temperature and is different at lower humidity levels. For example, an ambient temperature of 46 °C and a relative humidity of 50% correspond to 35 °C WBT, which is the upper limit that can kill even healthy people within hours. By now, the limit of survivability has almost been reached in some places. However, if global warming is not seriously tackled, deadly heat waves are anticipated for many regions that have contributed little to climate change.

According to high-resolution climate change simulations, North China and South Asia are particularly at risk, because the annual monsoon brings hot and humid air to these regions (Im et al. 2017 ; Kang and Eltahir 2018 ). The fertile plain of North China has experienced vast expansion of irrigated agriculture, which enhances the intensity of heat waves. South Asia, a region inhabited by about one-fifth of the global human population, is likely to approach the critical threshold by the late twenty-first century, if greenhouse gas emissions are not lowered significantly. In particular, the densely populated agricultural regions of the Ganges and Indus river basins are likely to be affected by extreme future heat waves. Also, the Arabic-speaking desert countries of the Gulf Region in the Middle East and the French-speaking parts of Africa are expected to suffer from heat waves beyond the limit of human survival. But to date, only 12 papers have been published on heat waves in connection with wet-bulb temperature (#15 of the search query); no paper was published before 2016. Some papers report excess hospital admissions during heat wave events (e.g., Semenza et al. 1999 ; Knowlton et al. 2009 ), with the danger of a temporary capacity overload of local medical systems in the future. Presumably, this will be an increasingly important issue in the future, when more and larger urban areas are affected by heat waves beyond the limit of human survival indicated by wet-bulb temperatures above 35° C.

The importance of heat waves for the medical area is underlined by the large portion of papers discussing excess hospital admissions and excess mortality during intense heat wave events, particularly in urban areas with a high population density. As was the case during the boom phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, local medical health care systems may become overstressed by long-lasting heat wave events and thus adaptation strategies are presented and discussed. Finally, the analysis of the keywords in this study reveals the connection of heat wave events with air pollution in urban regions. There seems to be evidence of an interaction between air pollution and high temperatures in the causation of excess mortality (e.g., Katsouyanni et al. 1993 ). Two more recent papers discuss the global risk of deadly heat (Mora et al. 2017 ) and the dramatically increasing chance of extremely hot summers since the 2003 European heat wave (Christidis et al. 2015 ).

Another important topic of the heat wave papers is related to the consequences for agriculture and forestry. Reduced precipitation and soil moisture result in crop failure and put food supplies at risk. Unfortunately, large regions of the world that contribute least to the emission of greenhouse gases are affected most by drought, poor harvests, and hunger. Some more recent papers discuss the increasing probability of marine heat waves (Oliver et al. 2018 ) and the consequences for the marine ecosystem (Smale et al. 2019 ).

The results of this study should be interpreted in terms of its limitations:

• We tried to include in our bibliometric analyses all relevant heat wave papers covered by the database. Our long-standing experience in professional information retrieval has shown, however, that it is sheer impossible to get complete and clean results by search queries against the backdrop of the search functions provided by literature databases like WoS or others. Also, the transition from relevant to non-relevant literature is blurred and is a question of the specific needs. In this study, we used bibliometric methods that are relatively robust with regard to the completeness and precision of the publication sets analyzed. For example, it is an advantage of RPYS that a comparatively small portion of relevant publications (i.e., an incomplete publication set) contains a large amount of the relevant literature as cited references. The number of cited references is indeed lowered as a consequence of an incomplete publication set. However, this does not significantly affect the results, since the reference counts are only used as a relative measure within specific publication years.

Two other limitations of this study refer to the RPYS of the heat wave paper set:

• There are numerous rather highly cited references retrieved by RPYS via CRExplorer but not considered in the listing of Table ​ Table2 2 due to the selection criteria applied. Many of these non-selected papers have N_CR values just below the limits that we have set. Therefore, papers not included in our listing are not per se qualified as much less important or even unimportant.
• In the interpretation of cited references counts, one should have in mind that they rely on the “popularity” of a publication being cited in subsequent research. The counts measure impact but not scientific importance or accuracy (Tahamtan and Bornmann 2019 ). Note that there are many reasons why authors cite publications (Tahamtan and Bornmann 2018 ), thus introducing a lot of “noise” in the data (this is why RPYS focuses on the cited reference peaks).

Our suggestions for future empirical analysis refer to the impact of the scientific heat wave discourse on social networks and funding of basic research on heat waves around topics driven by political pressure. Whereas this paper focuses on the scientific discourse around heat waves, it would be interesting if future studies were to address the policy relevance of the heat waves research.

Appendix 1 1)

WoS search query (date of search: July 1, 2021)

Table ​ Table2 2

Author contribution

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Werner Marx, Robin Haunschild, and Lutz Bornmann. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Werner Marx and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

Data availability

Code availability, declarations.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Change history

The original version of this paper was updated to add the missing compact agreement Open Access funding note.

Contributor Information

Werner Marx, Email: [email protected] .

Robin Haunschild, Email: [email protected] .

Lutz Bornmann, Email: [email protected] , Email: ed.gpm.vg@nnamnrob .

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337 Climate Change Research Topics & Examples

You will notice that there are many climate change research topics you can discuss. Our team has prepared this compilation of 185 ideas that you can use in your work.

📝 Key Points to Use to Write an Outstanding Climate Change Essay

🏆 best climate change title ideas & essay examples, 🥇 most interesting climate change topics to write about, 🎓 simple & easy research titles about climate change, 👍 good research topics about climate change, 🔍 interesting topics to write about climate change, ⭐ good essay topics on climate change, ❓ climate change essay questions.

A climate change essay is familiar to most students who learn biology, ecology, and politics. In order to write a great essay on climate change, you need to explore the topic in great detail and show your understanding of it.

This article will provide you with some key points that you could use in your paper to make it engaging and compelling.

First of all, explore the factors contributing to climate change. Most people know that climate change is associated with pollution, but it is essential to examine the bigger picture. Consider the following questions:

• What is the mechanism by which climate change occurs?
• How do the activities of large corporations contribute to climate change?
• Why is the issue of deforestation essential to climate change?
• How do people’s daily activities promote climate change?

Secondly, you can focus on solutions to the problems outlined above.

Climate change essay topics often provide recommendations on how individuals and corporations could reduce their environmental impact. These questions may help to guide you through this section:

• How can large corporations decrease the influence of their operations on the environment?
• Can you think of any examples of corporations who have successfully decreased their environmental footprint?
• What steps can people take to reduce pollution and waste as part of their daily routine?
• Do you believe that trends such as reforestation and renewable energy will help to stop climate change? Why or why not?
• Can climate change be reversed at all, or is it an inescapable trend?

In connection with these topics, you could also discuss various government policies to address climate change. Over the past decades, many countries enacted laws to reduce environmental damage. There are plenty of ideas that you could address here:

• What are some famous national policies for environmental protection?
• Are laws and regulations effective in protecting the environment? Why or why not?
• How do environmentally-friendly policies affect individuals and businesses?
• Are there any climate change graphs that show the effectiveness of national policies for reducing environmental damage?
• How could government policies on climate change be improved?

Despite the fact that there is definite proof of climate change, the concept is opposed by certain politicians, business persons, and even scientists.

You could address the opposition to climate change in your essay and consider the following:

• Why do some people think that climate change is not real?
• What is the ultimate proof of climate change?
• Why is it beneficial for politicians and business persons to argue against climate change?
• Do you think that climate change is a real issue? Why or why not?

The impact of ecological damage on people, animals, and plants is the focus of most essay titles on global warming and climate change. Indeed, describing climate change effects in detail could earn you some extra marks. Use scholarly resources to research these climate change essay questions:

• How has climate change impacted wildlife already?
• If climate change advances at the same pace, what will be the consequences for people?
• Besides climate change, what are the impacts of water and air pollution? What does the recent United Nations’ report on climate change say about its effects?
• In your opinion, could climate change lead to the end of life on Earth? Why or why not?

Covering at least some of the points discussed in this post will help you write an excellent climate change paper! Don’t forget to search our website for more useful materials, including a climate change essay outline, sample papers, and much more!

• Climate Change – Problems and Solutions It is important to avoid cutting trees and reduce the utilization of energy to protect the environment. Many organizations have been developed to enhance innovation and technology in the innovation of eco-friendly machines.
• Causes and Effects of Climate Changes Climate change is the transformation in the distribution patterns of weather or changes in average weather conditions of a place or the whole world over long periods.
• Climate Change: Human Impact on the Environment This paper is an in-depth exploration of the effects that human activities have had on the environment, and the way the same is captured in the movie, The Eleventh Hour.
• Is Climate Change a Real Threat? Climate change is a threat, but its impact is not as critical as wrong political decisions, poor social support, and unstable economics.
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• Transportation Impact on Climate Change It is apparent that the number of motor vehicles in the world is increasing by the day, and this translates to an increase in the amount of pollutants produced by the transportation industry annually.
• Climate Change – Global Warming For instance, in the last one century, scientists have directly linked the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere with the increase in temperature of the earth.
• Climate Change Impacts on Ocean Life The destruction of the ozone layer has led to the exposure of the earth to harmful radiation from the sun. The rising temperatures in the oceans hinder the upward flow of nutrients from the seabed […]
• Climate Change: The Day After Tomorrow In the beginning of the film “The Day After Tomorrow”, the main character, Professor Jack Hall, is trying to warn the world of the drastic consequences of a changing climate being caused by the polluting […]
• Global Warming and Effects Within 50 Years Global warming by few Scientists is often known as “climate change” the reason being is that according to the global warming is not the warming of earth it basically is the misbalance in climate.
• Anthropogenic Climate Change Since anthropogenic climate change occurs due to the cumulative effect of greenhouse gases, it is imperative that climatologists focus on both immediate and long term interventions to avert future crises of global warming that seem […]
• The Climate Change Articles Comparison In a broader sense, both articles address the concept of sustainability and the means of reinforcing its significance in the context of modern global society to prevent further deterioration of the environment from happening.
• Climate Change and Threat to Animals In the coming years, the increase in the global temperatures will make many living populations less able to adapt to the emergent conditions or to migrate to other regions that are suitable for their survival.
• Technology’s Impact on Climate Change To examine the contribution of technology to climate change; To present a comprehensive review of technologically-mediated methods for responding to global flooding caused by anthropogenic climate change; To suggest the most effective and socially just […]
• Global Warming and Climate Change: Annotated Bibliography The author shows the tragedy of the situation with climate change by the example of birds that arrived too early from the South, as the buds begin to bloom, although it is still icy.
• Research Driven Critique: Steven Maher and Climate Change The ravaging effects of Covid-19 must not distract the world from the impending ramifications of severe environmental and climatic events that shaped the lives of a significant portion of the population in the past year.
• Climate Change and Renewable Energy Options The existence of various classes of world economies in the rural setting and the rise of the middle class economies has put more pressure on environmental services that are highly demanded and the use of […]
• Climate Change Definition and Description The wind patterns, the temperature and the amount of rainfall are used to determine the changes in temperature. Usually, the atmosphere changes in a way that the energy of the sun absorbed by the atmosphere […]
• Maize Production and Climate Change in South Africa Maize farming covers 58% of the crop area in South Africa and 60% of this is in drier areas of the country.
• Environmental Perils: Climate Change Issue Many people have been lamenting over the issue of the climate crisis, For instance, Mindy Lubber, a former regional administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, delivered a speech in October 2008 at a […]
• Climate Change: Anthropological Concepts and Perspectives In this context, it is important to discuss how anthropologists define the environmental change in relation to the social change; what views are predominant in the anthropological discourse regarding the global character of the climate […]
• Organisational Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy Porter and Kramer are of the opinion that an organisation has to create a set of effective share values between the society and the firm in order to enhance organisational performance.
• Climate Change and Role of Government He considers that the forest’s preservation is vital, as it is the wellspring of our human well-being. As such, the legislature can pass policies that would contribute to safeguarding our nation’s well-being, but they do […]
• Climate Change and the Allegory of the Cave Plato’s allegory of the cave reflects well our current relationship with the environment and ways to find a better way to live in the world and live with it.
• How Aviation Impacts Climate Change A measurement of the earth’s radiation budget imbalance brought on by changes in the quantities of gases and aerosols or cloudiness is known as radiative forcing.
• Diets and Climate Change Thus, changing the diet is a feasible method to address the problem of climate change. One of the ways I try to minimize my environmental impact is to eat less meat.
• Climate Change Impacts on the Aviation Industry The last two research questions focus on investigating the challenges experienced by stakeholders in the aviation industry in reducing the carbon blueprint of the sector and discussing additional steps the aviation industry can take to […]
• Climate Change and Its Effects on Indigenous Peoples For the last three decades, the indigenous people of the North have observed several changes on the environmental changes and climatic patterns in the region.
• The Key Drivers of Climate Change The use of fossil fuel in building cooling and heating, transportation, and in the manufacture of goods leads to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
• Climate Change’s Impact on Crop Production I will address the inefficiencies of water use in our food production systems, food waste, and the impact of temperature on crop yield.
• The Straw Man Fallacy in the Topic of Climate Change The straw man fallacy is a type of logical fallacy whereby one person misrepresents their opponent’s question or argument to make it easier to respond.
• Personal Insight: Climate Change To my mind, economic implications are one of the most concerning because the economy is one of the pillars of modern society.
• China Climate Change Majority of developed and developing countries for example, the U.S.and China have failed to heed to the call of the need to save Mother Nature through implementation of pollution mitigating measures, for example, the Kyoto […]
• Energy Conservation for Solving Climate Change Problem The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that of all the ways energy is used in America, about 39% is used to generate electricity.
• The Role of Science and Technology in International Relations Regarding Climate Change This paper examines the role of science and technology as it has been used to address the challenge of climate change, which is one of the major issues affecting the global societies today.
• Climate Change: Is Capitalism the Problem or the Solution? This means that capitalism, which is the ability to produce wealth lies in the solution and also the causes of the current global climatic governance.
• Social Concepts and Climate Change All these are illustrations that climate change is real and skeptics of the process have no sound grounds to support their argument.
• Tourism and Climate Change Problem There are a number of factors that propelled the growth of tourism and these factors include the improvement of the standards of living in many developed nations, good work polices allowing more time for vacations […]
• Saving the Forest and Climate Changes The greenhouse gases from such emissions play a key role in the depletion of the most essential ozone layer, thereby increasing the solar heating effect on the adjacent Earth’s surface as well as the rate […]
• Impact of Food Waste on Climate Change In conclusion, I believe that some of the measures that can be taken to prevent food waste are calculating the population and their needs.
• Climate Change and Resource Sustainability in Balkan: How Quickly the Impact is Happening In addition, regarding the relief of the Balkans, their territory is dominated by a large number of mountains and hills, especially in the west, among which the northern boundary extends to the Julian Alps and […]
• Climate Change: Renewable Energy Sources Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity, and deforestation and “oil dependency” only exacerbate the situation and rapidly kill people. Therefore it is important to invest in the development of renewable energy sources.
• Climate Change, Economy, and Environment Central to the sociological approach to climate change is studying the relationship between the economy and the environment. Another critical area of sociologists ‘ attention is the relationship between inequality and the environment.
• The Three Myths of Climate Change In the video, Linda Mortsch debunks three fundamental misconceptions people have regarding climate change and sets the record straight that the phenomenon is happening now, affects everyone, and is not easy to adapt.
• Terrorism, Corruption, and Climate Change as Threats Therefore, threats affecting countries around the globe include terrorism, corruption, and climate change that can be mitigated through integrated counter-terror mechanisms, severe punishment for dishonest practices, and creating awareness of safe practices.
• Climate Change’s Impact on Hendra Virus Transmission to humans occurs once people are exposed to an infected horse’s body fluids, excretions, and tissues. Land clearing in giant fruit bats’ habitats has exacerbated food shortages due to climate change, which has led […]
• Global Climate Change and Environmental Conservation There may be a significantly lesser possibility that skeptics will acknowledge the facts and implications of climate change, which may result in a lower desire on their part to adopt adaptation. The climate of Minnesota […]
• Beef Production’s Impact on Climate Change This industry is detrimental to the state of the planet and, in the long term, can lead to irreversible consequences. It is important to monitor the possible consequences and reduce the consumption of beef.
• Cities and Climate Change: Articles Summary The exponential population growth in the United States of America and the energy demands put the nation in a dilemma. Climate change challenges are experienced as a result of an increase in greenhouse gas emissions […]
• The Impact of Climate Change on Vulnerable Human Populations The fact that the rise in temperatures caused by the greenhouse effect is a threat to humans development has focused global attention on the “emissions generated from the combustion” of fossil fuels.
• Climate Change and Food Waste Management Climate change is an international challenge that is reinforced by FW, indicating that FW management can help in maintaining the further worsening of the environment.
• Food Waste Management: Impact on Sustainability and Climate Change How effective is composting food waste in enhancing sustainability and reducing the effects of climate change? The following key terms are used to identify and scrutinize references and study materials.”Food waste” and sustain* “Food waste” […]
• Protecting the Environment Against Climate Change The destruction of the ozone layer, which helps in filtering the excessive ray of light and heat from the sun, expose people to some skin cancer and causes drought.
• The Global Warming Problem and Solution Therefore, it is essential to make radical decisions, first of all, to reduce the use of fossil fuels such as oil, carbon, and natural gas. One of the ways of struggle is to protest in […]
• Climate Change and Immigration Issues Due to its extensive coverage of the aspects of climate migration, the article will be significant to the research process in acquiring a better understanding of the effects of climate change on different people from […]
• Global Warming: Speculation and Biased Information For example, people or organizations that deny the extent or existence of global warming may finance the creation and dissemination of incorrect information.
• Impacts of Climate Change on Ocean The development of phytoplankton is sensitive to the temperature of the ocean. Some marine life is leaving the ocean due to the rising water temperature.
• Impact of Climate Change on the Mining Sector After studying the necessary information on the topic of sustainability and Sustainability reports, the organization was allocated one of the activities that it performs to maintain it.
• Climate Change: Historical Background and Social Values The Presidential and Congress elections in the US were usually accompanied by the increased interest in the issue of climate change in the 2010s.
• Communities and Climate Change Article by Kehoe In the article, he describes the stringent living conditions of the First Nations communities and estimates the dangers of climate change for these remote areas.
• Discussion: Reverting Climate Change Undertaking some of these activities requires a lot of finances that have seen governments setting aside funds to help in the budgeting and planning of the institutions.
• Was Climate Change Affecting Species? It was used because it helps establish the significance of the research topic and describes the specific effects of climate change on species.
• Climate Change Attitudes and Counteractions The argument is constructed around the assumption that the deteriorating conditions of climate will soon become one of the main reasons why many people decide to migrate to other places.
• How Climate Change Could Impact the Global Economy In “This is How Climate Change Could Affect the World Economy,” Natalie Marchand draws attention to the fact that over the next 30 years, global GDP will shrink by up to 18% if global temperatures […]
• Effective Policy Sets to Curb Climate Change A low population and economic growth significantly reduce climate change while reducing deforestation and methane gas, further slowing climate change. The world should adopt this model and effectively increase renewable use to fight climate change.
• Climate Change: Social-Ecological Systems Framework One of the ways to understand and assess the technogenic impact on various ecological systems is to apply the Social-Ecological Systems Framework.
• The Climate Change Mitigation Issues Indeed, from the utilitarian perspective, the current state of affairs is beneficial only for the small percentage of the world population that mostly resides in developed countries.
• The Dangers of Global Warming: Environmental and Economic Collapse Global warming is caused by the so-called ‘Greenhouse effect’, when gases in Earth’s atmosphere, such as water vapor or methane, let the Sun’s light enter the planet but keep some of its heat in.
• Wildfires and Impact of Climate Change Climate change has played a significant role in raise the likelihood and size of wildfires around the world. Climate change causes more moisture to evaporate from the earth, drying up the soil and making vegetation […]
• Effects of Climate Change on Health The cornerstones of human health are the ability to satisfy hunger and quench thirst; however, climate change factors in the disruption of these pillars.
• Aviation, Climate Change, and Better Engine Designs: Reducing CO2 Emissions The presence of increasing levels of CO2 and other oxides led to the deterioration of the ozone layer. More clients and partners in the industry were becoming aware and willing to pursue the issue of […]
• Climate Change as a Problem for Businesses and How to Manage It Additionally, some businesses are directly contributing to climate change due to a lack of measures that will minimise the emission of carbon.
• Climate Change and Disease-Carrying Insects In order to prevent the spreading of the viruses through insects, the governments should implement policies against the emissions which contribute to the growth of the insects’ populations.
• Aspects of Global Warming Global warming refers to the steadily increasing temperature of the Earth, while climate change is how global warming changes the weather and climate of the planet.
• David Lammy on Climate Change and Racial Justice However, Lammy argues that people of color living in the global south and urban areas are the ones who are most affected by the climate emergency.
• Moral Aspects of Climate Change Addresses However, these approaches are anthropocentric because they intend to alleviate the level of human destruction to the environment, but place human beings and their economic development at the center of all initiatives.
• Feminism: A Road Map to Overcoming COVID-19 and Climate Change By exposing how individuals relate to one another as humans, institutions, and organizations, feminism aids in the identification of these frequent dimensions of suffering.
• Global Warming: Moral and Political Challenge That is, if the politicians were to advocate the preservation of the environment, they would encourage businesses completely to adopt alternative methods and careful usage of resources.
• Climate Change: Inconsistencies in Reporting An alternative route that may be taken is to engage in honest debates about the issue, which will reduce alarmism and defeatism.
• The Climate Change Situation in the World There is still an opportunity to mitigate the consequences to avoid the worst. By saving energy, eating proper food, and leading healthy lifestyles, individuals can contribute to the change of climate.
• Climate Change: The Chornobyl Nuclear Accident Also, I want to investigate the reasons behind the decision of the USSR government to conceal the truth and not let people save their lives.
• “World on the Edge”: Managing the Causes of Climate Change Brown’s main idea is to show the possibility of an extremely unfortunate outcome in the future as a result of the development of local agricultural problems – China, Iran, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and others – […]
• Impact of Climate Change in Modern World It should be noted that climate change is one of the most important challenges of modernity, and properly addressing the problem is of paramount relevance for the future of humanity’s development and civilization.
• Gendering Climate Change: Geographical Insights In the given article, the author discusses the implications of climate change on gender and social relations and encourages scholars and activists to think critically and engage in debates on a global scale.
• Climate Change and Its Consequences for Oklahoma This concept can be defined as a rise in the Earth’s temperature due to anthropogenic activity, resulting in alteration of usual weather in various parts of the planet.
• Importance of Climate Change for Public Health Introducing more green areas, trees, and plants is the tactic that the Harris County Public Health Department suggests for mitigating the health implications of climate change.
• Climate Change Impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa This is why I believe it is necessary to conduct careful, thorough research on why climate change is a threat to our planet and how to stop it.
• Climate Change: Global Warming Intensity Average temperatures on Earth are rising faster than at any time in the past 2,000 years, and the last five of them have been the hottest in the history of meteorological observations since 1850.
• The Negative Results of Climate Change Climate change refers to the rise of the sea due to hot oceans expanding and the melting of ice sheets and glaciers.
• Addressing Climate Change: The Collective Action Problem While all the nations agree that climate change is a source of substantial harm to the economy, the environment, and public health, not all countries have similar incentives for addressing the problem. Addressing the problem […]
• Health Issues on the Climate Change However, the mortality rate of air pollution in the United States is relatively low compared to the rest of the world.
• Collective Climate Change Responsibility The fact is that individuals are not the most critical contributors to the climate crisis, and while ditching the plastic straw might feel good on a personal level, it will not solve the situation.
• Climate Change and Challenges in Miami, Florida The issue of poor environment maintenance in Miami, Florida, has led to climate change, resulting in sea-level rise, an increase of flood levels, and droughts, and warmer temperatures in the area.
• Global Perspectives in the Climate Change Strategy It is required to provide an overview of those programs and schemes of actions that were used in the local, federal and global policies of the countries of the world to combat air pollution.
• Climate Change as Systemic Risk of Globalization However, the integration became more complex and rapid over the years, making it systemic due to the higher number of internal connections.
• Impact of Climate Change on Increased Wildfires Over the past decades, America has experienced the most severe fires in its history regarding the coverage of affected areas and the cost of damage.
• Creating a Policy Briefing Book: Climate Change in China After that, a necessary step included the evaluation of the data gathered and the development of a summary that perfectly demonstrated the crucial points of this complication.
• Natural Climate Solutions for Climate Change in China The social system and its response to climate change are directly related to the well-being, economic status, and quality of life of the population.
• Climate Change and Limiting the Fuel-Powered Transportation When considering the options for limiting the extent of the usage of fuel-powered vehicles, one should pay attention to the use of personal vehicles and the propensity among most citizens to prefer diesel cars as […]
• Climate Change Laboratory Report To determine the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causing global warming in the next ten decades, if the estimated rate of deforestation is maintained.
• Climate Change: Causes, Impact on People and the Environment Climate change is the alteration of the normal climatic conditions in the earth, and it occurs over some time. In as much as there are arguments based around the subject, it is mainly caused by […]
• Climate Change and Stabilization Wages The more the annual road activity indicates that more cars traversed throughout a fiscal year, the higher the size of the annual fuel consumption. The Carbon Capture and Storage technology can also reduce carbon emissions […]
• UK Climate Change Act 2008 The aim of the UK is to balance the levels of greenhouse gases to circumvent the perilous issue of climate change, as well as make it probable for people to acclimatize to an inevitable climate […]
• Sustainability, Climate Change Impact on Supply Chains & Circular Economy With recycling, reusing of materials, and collecting waste, industries help to fight ecological issues, which are the cause of climate change by saving nature’s integrity.
• Climate Change Indicators and Media Interference There is no certainty in the bright future for the Earth in the long-term perspective considering the devastating aftereffects that the phenomenon might bring. The indicators are essential to evaluate the scale of the growing […]
• Climate Change: Sustainability Development and Environmental Law The media significantly contributes to the creation of awareness, thus the importance of integrating the role of the news press with sustainability practices.
• How Climate Change Affects Conflict and Peace The review looks at various works from different years on the environment, connections to conflict, and the impact of climate change.
• Toyota Corporation: The Effects of Climate Change on the Word’s Automobile Sector Considering the broad nature of the sector, the study has taken into account the case of Toyota Motor Corporation which is one of the firms operating within the sector.
• The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture However, the move to introduce foreign species of grass such as Bermuda grass in the region while maintaining the native grass has been faced by challenges related to the fiscal importance of the production.
• Health and Climate Change Climate change, which is a universal problem, is thought to have devastating effects on human and animal health. However, the precise health effects are not known.
• The Issue of Climate Change The only confirmed facts are the impact of one’s culture and community on willingness to participate in environmental projects, and some people can refuse to join, thereby demonstrating their individuality.
• Climate Change as a Battle of Generation Z These issues have attracted the attention of the generation who they have identified climate change as the most challenging problem the world is facing today.
• Climate Change and Health in Nunavut, Canada Then, the authors tend to use strict and formal language while delivering their findings and ideas, which, again, is due to the scholarly character of the article. Thus, the article seems to have a good […]
• Climate Change From Community Perspective Namely, the study has shown that the target audience has been concerned with the impact of climate change on health, the shift from past to current climate, the adaptation process, the call to action, and […]
• Climate Change: Anticipating Drastic Consequences Modern scientists focus on the problem of the climate change because of expecting the dramatic consequences of the process in the future.
• The Analysis of Process of Climate Change Dietz is the head of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
• The Way Climate Change Affects the Planet It can help analyze past events such as the Pleistocene ice ages, but the current climate change does not fit the criteria. It demonstrates how slower the change was when compared to the current climate […]
• Polar Bear Decline: Climate Change From Pole to Pole In comparison to 2005 where five of the populations were stable, it shows that there was a decline in stability of polar bear population.
• Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change The three areas of interest that this report discusses are the impacts of climate change on social, economic and environmental fronts which are the key areas that have created a lot of debate and discussion […]
• Strategy for Garnering Effective Action on Climate Change Mitigation The approach should be participatory in that every member of the community is aware of ways that leads to climate change in order to take the necessary precaution measures. Many member nations have failed to […]
• Impact of Global Climate Change on Malaria There will be a comparison of the intensity of the changes to the magnitude of the impacts on malaria endemicity proposed within the future scenarios of the climate.
• The Economic Impacts of Climate Change The article by Greenstone and Oliver indicates that the problem of global warming is one of the most perilous disasters whose effects are seen in low agricultural output, poor economic wellbeing of people, and high […]
• Rainforests of Victoria: Potential Effects of Climate Change The results of the research by Brooke in the year 2005 was examined to establish the actual impacts of climate change on the East Gippsland forest, especially for the fern specie.
• Pygmy-Possum Burramys Parvus: The Effects of Climate Change The study will be guided by the following research question: In what ways will the predicted loss of snow cover due to climate change influence the density and habitat use of the mountain pygmy-possum populations […]
• Climate Change and the Occurrence of Infectious Diseases This paper seeks to explore the nature of two vector-borne diseases, malaria, and dengue fever, in regards to the characteristics that would make them prone to effects of climate change, and to highlight some of […]
• Links Between Methane, Plants, and Climate Change According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is the anthropogenic activities that has increased the load of greenhouse gases since the mid-20th century that has resulted in global warming. It is only the […]
• United Nations Climate Change Conference In the Kyoto protocol, members agreed that nations needed to reduce the carbon emissions to levels that could not threaten the planet’s livelihoods.
• The Involve of Black People in the Seeking of Climate Change Whereas some researchers use the magnitude of pollution release as opposed to closeness to a hazardous site to define exposure, others utilize the dispersion of pollutants model to comprehend the link between exposure and population.
• Climate Change Dynamics: Are We Ready for the Future? One of the critical challenges of preparedness for future environmental changes is the uncertainty of how the climate system will change in several decades.
• How Climate Change Impacts Ocean Temperature and Marine Life The ocean’s surface consumes the excess heat from the air, which leads to significant issues in all of the planet’s ecosystems.
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plan for Abu Dhabi City, UAE Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the UAE and the Abu Dhabi Emirate and is located on a triangular island in the Persian Gulf.
• Climate Change in Communication Moreover, environmental reporting is not accurate and useful since profits influence and political interference affect the attainment of truthful, objective, and fair facts that would promote efficiency in newsrooms on environmental reporting.
• Coronavirus’ Impact on Climate Change The extremely contagious nature of the given pathogen preconditioned the need for an immediate response and severe isolation measures to stop the appearance of new patients and protect the health of individuals.
• Global Pollution and Climate Change Both of these works address the topic of Global pollution, Global warming, and Climate change, which are relevant to the current situation in the world.
• Climate Change: The Key Issues An analysis of world literature indicates the emergence in recent years of a number of scientific publications on the medical and environmental consequences of global climate change.
• Climate Change Is a Scientific Fallacy Even in the worst-case scenario whereby the earth gives in and fails to support human activities, there can always be a way out.
• Climate Change: Change Up Your Approach People are becoming aware of the relevance of things and different aspects of their life, which is a positive trend. However, the share of this kind of energy will be reduced dramatically which is favorable […]
• Climate Change: The Broken Ozone Layer It explains the effects of climate change and the adaptation methods used. Vulnerability is basically the level of exposure and weakness of an aspect with regard to climate change.
• Climate Change and Economic Growth The graph displays the levels of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the years before our time with the number 0 being the year 1950.
• Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence The point of confluence in the cattle raids in East Africa and the planting of opium in the poor communities is the struggle to beat the effects of climatic changes.
• A Shift From Climate Change Awareness Under New President Such statements raised concerns among American journalists and general population about the future of the organization as one of the main forces who advocated for the safe and healthy environment of Americans and the global […]
• Human Influence on Climate Change Climate changes are dangerous because they influence all the living creatures in the world. Thus, it is hard to overestimate the threat for humankind the climate changes represent.
• Environmental Studies: Climate Changes Ozone hole is related to forest loss in that the hole is caused by reaction of different chemicals that are found in the atmosphere and some of these gases, for example, the carbon dioxide gas […]
• Global Warming: Negative Effects to the Environment The effect was the greening of the environment and its transformation into habitable zones for humans The second system has been a consequence of the first, storage.
• Global Warming Problem Overview: Significantly Changing the Climate Patterns The government is not in a position to come up with specific costs that are attached to the extent of environmental pollution neither are the polluters aware about the costs that are attached to the […]
• Desert, Glaciers, and Climate Change When the wind blows in a relatively flat area with no vegetation, this wind moves loose and fine particles to erode a vast area of the landscape continuously in a process called deflation.
• Global Change Biology in Terms of Global Warming A risk assessment method showed that the current population could persist for at least 2000 years at hatchling sex ratios of up to 75% male.
• The Politics of Climate Change, Saving the Environment In the first article, the author expresses his concern with the problem of data utilization on climate change and negative consequences arising from this.
• Global Warming Issues Review and Environmental Sustainability Whether it is the melt down of Arctic ice, the damage of the Ozone layer, extra pollution in developing countries; all sums up to one thing in common and that is global warming.
• Starbucks: Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Climate Change Then in the 90s and onwards to the 21st century, Starbucks coffee can be seen almost anywhere and in places where one least expects to see a Starbucks store.
• Neolithic Revolution and Climate Change At the primary stage of the evolution of human civilization, the rise of agriculture in the later part of stone age, also known as the Neolithic Revolution, was ultimately necessary to keep pace with the […]
• Global Warming: Ways to Help End Global Warming An innovative understanding of global warming has included it in the agenda of firms and governments. 5 trillion dollars are shouldering the responsibility of collecting and distributing information on the firms’ exposure to carbon emission-related […]
• Global Warming-The Early Signs of Warning
• Biofuels and Climate Change
• The Influence of Global Warming and Pollution on the Environment
• How Global Warming Has an Effect on Wildlife?
• Climate Change Risks in South Eastern Australia
• The Politics and Economics of International Action on Climate Change
• Climate Change: Influence on Lifestyle in the Future
• Global Warming: Causes and Impact on Health, Environment and the Biodiversity
• Climate Change During Socialism and Capitalistic Epochs
• Climate Change and Public Health Policies
• Climate Changes: Cause and Effect
• Global Warming: Causes and Consequences
• World Trade as the Adjustment Mechanism of Agriculture to Climate Change by Julia & Duchin
• Risk Communication, Public Engagement, and Climate Change
• Everyday Communication Surrounding Climate Change
• Chad Frischmann: The Young Minds Solving Climate Change
• Climate Change and the Syrian Civil War Revisited
• Public Health Education on Climate Change Effects
• Research Plan “Climate Change”
• Evidence of Climate Change
• The Role of Human Activities on the Climate Change
• Corporations’ Impact on Climate Change
• Climate Change Factors and Countermeasures
• Climate Change Effects on Population Health
• Climate Change: Who Is at Fault?
• Technological and Policy Solutions to Prevent Climate Change
• Climate Change: Reducing Industrial Air Pollution
• Global Climate Change and Biological Implications
• Weather Abnormalities and Climate Change
• Global Warming, Its Consequences and Prevention
• Climate Change and Risks for Business in Australia
• Climate Change Solutions for Australia
• Climate Change, Industrial Ecology and Environmental Chemistry
• “Climate Change May Destroy Alaskan Towns” Video
• Science of Global Warming and Climate Change
• Climate Change Effects on Kenya’s Tea Industry
• Dealing With the Climate Change Issues
• Global Warming as Environmental Injustice
• Technologically Produced Emissions Impact on Climate Change
• City Trees and Climate Change: Act Green and Get Healthy
• Climate Change and American National Security
• Anthropogenic Climate Change and Policy Problems
• Climate Change, Air Pollution, Soil Degradation
• Climate Change in Canada
• Global Warming Impact on the Natural Environment
• International Climate Change Agreements
• Polar Transformations as a Global Warming Issue
• Moral Obligations to Climate Change and Animal Life
• Climate Change in Abu Dhabi
• Technology Influence on Climate Change
• Global Warming and Climate Change: Fighting and Solutions
• Climate Change Debates and Scientific Opinion
• Earth’s Geologic History and Global Climate Change
• CO2 Emission and Climate Change Misconceptions
• Geoengineering as a Possible Response to Climate Change
• Global Warming: People Impact on the Environment
• Climate Change: Ways of Eliminating Negative Effects
• Climate Change Probability and Predictions
• Climate Changes and Human Population Distribution
• Climate Change as International Issue
• Climate Change for Australian Magpie-Lark Birds
• Climate Change Effects on Ocean Acidification
• Climate Change Governance: Concepts and Theories
• Climate Change’s Negative Impact on Biodiversity
• Climate Change Management and Risk Governance
• United Nation and Climate Change
• Human Rights and Climate Change Policy-Making
• Climate Change Impacts on Business in Bangladesh
• Environmental Risk Perception: Climate Change Viewpoints
• Pollution & Climate Change as Environmental Risks
• Climate Change: Nicholas Stern and Ross Garnaut Views
• Challenges Facing Humanity: Technology and Climate Change
• Climate Change Potential Consequences
• Climate Change in United Kingdom
• Climate Change From International Relations Perspective
• Climate Change and International Collaboration
• Climate Change Impact on Bangladesh
• International Security and Climate Change
• Climate and Conflicts: Security Risks of Global Warming
• Climate Change Effects on World Economy
• Climate Change Vulnerability in Scotland
• Global Warming and Climate Change
• Responsible Factors for Climate Change
• The Effect of Science on Climate Change
• “Climate Change: Turning Up the Heat” by Barrie Pittock
• Vulnerability of World Countries to Climate Change
• Anthropogenic Climate Change
• The Implementation of MOOCs on Climate Change
• The Climate Change and the Asset-Based Community Development
• Global Warming and Its Effects on the Environment
• Climate Change Research Studies
• Environmental Issue – Climate Change
• Climate Change Negative Health Impacts
• Managing the Impacts of Climate Change
• Early Climate Change Science
• Views Comparison on the Problem of Climate Change
• Climate Change and Corporate World
• Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) in Reducing the Effects of Climate Change
• Climate Change Affecting Coral Triangle Turtles
• Introduction to Climate Change: Major Threats and the Means to Avoid Them
• Asian Drivers of Global Change
• The Causes and Effects of Climate Change in the US
• Metholdogy for Economic Discourse Analysis in Climate Change
• The Impact of Climate Change on New Hampshire Business
• Climate Change Effects on an Individual’s Life in the Future
• Ideology of Economic Discourse in Climate Change
• The Role of Behavioural Economics in Energy and Climate Policy
• The Economic Cost of Climate Change Effects
• Transforming the Economy to Address Climate Change and Global Resource Competition
• Climate Change: Floods in Queensland Australia
• Climate Change as a Global Security Threat
• Climate Change and Its Effects on Tourism in Coastal Areas
• Impact of Climate Change and Solutions
• Climate Change and Its Global Implications in Hospitality and Tourism
• Climate Change Needs Human Behavior Change
• The Negative Effects of Climate Change in Cities
• Negative Impacts of Climate Change in the Urban Areas and Possible Strategies to Address Them
• Climate Changes: Snowpack
• Climate Change and Consumption: Which Way the Wind Blows in Indiana
• The United Nation’s Response to Climate Change
• Need for Topic on Climate Change in Geography Courses
• Critical Review: “Food’s Footprint: Agriculture and Climate Change” by Jennifer Burney
• Global Warming: Justing Gillis Discussing Studies on Climate Change
• Economics and Human Induced Climate Change
• Biology of Climate Change
• Business & Climate Change
• Global Warming Causes and Unfavorable Climatic Changes
• Spin, Science and Climate Change
• Climate Change, Coming Home: Global Warming’s Effects on Populations
• Climate Change and Human Health
• Climate Change: The Complex Issue of Global Warming
• Climate Changes: Human Activities and Global Warming
• Public Awareness of Climate Changes and Carbon Footprints
• Climate Change: Impact of Carbon Emissions to the Atmosphere
• Problems of Climate Change
• Solving the Climate Change Crisis Through Development of Renewable Energy
• Climate Change Is the Biggest Challenge in the World That Affects the Flexibility of Individual Specie
• Climate Changes
• Ways to Reduce Global Warming
• Climate Change Definition and Causes
• Climate Change: Nearing a Mini Ice Age
• Global Warming Outcomes and Sea-Level Changes
• Climate Change: Causes and Effects
• Protecting Forests to Prevent Climate Change
• Climate Change in Saudi Arabia and Miami
• Effects of Global Warming on the Environment
• Threat to Biodiversity Is Just as Important as Climate Change
• Does Climate Change Affect Entrepreneurs?
• Does Climate Change Information Affect Stated Risks of Pine Beetle Impacts on Forests
• Does Energy Consumption Contribute to Climate Change?
• Does Forced Solidarity Hinder Adaptation to Climate Change?
• Does Risk Communication Really Decrease Cooperation in Climate Change Mitigation?
• Does Risk Perception Limit the Climate Change Mitigation Behaviors?
• What Are the Differences Between Climate Change and Global Warming?
• What Are the Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture in North East Central Europe?
• What Are the Policy Challenges That National Governments Face in Addressing Climate Change?
• What Are the Primary Causes of Climate Change?
• What Are the Risks of Climate Change and Global Warming?
• What Does Climate Change Mean for Agriculture in Developing Countries?
• What Drives the International Transfer of Climate Change Mitigation Technologies?
• What Economic Impacts Are Expected to Result From Climate Change?
• What Motivates Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change?
• What Natural Forces Have Caused Climate Change?
• What Problems Are Involved With Establishing an International Climate Change?
• What Role Has Human Activity Played in Causing Climate Change?
• Which Incentives Does Regulation Give to Adapt Network Infrastructure to Climate Change?
• Why Climate Change Affects Us?
• Why Does Climate Change Present Potential Dangers for the African Continent?
• Why Economic Analysis Supports Strong Action on Climate Change?
• Why Should People Care For the Perceived Event of Climate Change?
• Why the Climate Change Debate Has Not Created More Cleantech Funds in Sweden?
• Why Worry About Climate Change?
• Will African Agriculture Survive Climate Change?
• Will Carbon Tax Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change?
• Will Climate Change Affect Agriculture?
• Will Climate Change Cause Enormous Social Costs for Poor Asian Cities?
• Will Religion and Faith Be the Answer to Climate Change?
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Climate Change Research Paper Topics

Table of contents

• 1.1 How to analyze the main points?
• 1.2 How to approach your thesis?
• 1.3 The subject of climatic changes does face opposition
• 2 Most Interesting Climate Change Topics to Write About
• 3 Simple And Easy Research Topics About Climate Change
• 4 Major Topics on Climate Change for Academic Writing
• 5 Cool Climate Change Research Topics
• 6 Conclusion

Climate change research topics are becoming critical in the modern industrialization and technological era. And that’s why it is one of the most common themes to write and discuss in numerous learning institutions.

But choosing the best topic to write  about climate warming can be pretty annoying. You must explore first and find the specific subjects that interest you. You can brainstorm and find the best titles to write about based on your exploration.

This post has been crafted to assist you in understanding climatic variation, and to provide you with the best talking points for your writing. Additionally, if you find that you need help, you can pay for a research paper to help you out.

So without any further ado, let’s begin.

How to Select the Best Climate Change Research Paper Topic?

Firstly, you should make a list of the areas within climate change that interest you. Then, you should research and identify possible sources of information related to the topics. After that, you should read and note down the relevant information from these sources. Finally, you should narrow down the topics and write my research paper on the most interesting one.

How to analyze the main points?

Before looking for climate change topics for a research paper , begin by conducting a simple analysis. This analysis has to be on the grand subject of climatic variation.

After that, focus on the domain that you find most interesting. You can consult various thesis and books along with multiple articles. Knowing how to start a research paper intro will allow you to gain more insights into your area of interest. You can start the brainstorming process according to the analysis you conducted earlier.

As we have already mentioned, there are different ways to write essays and college papers on global heating. You can either be in favor or against this issue. But it is essential that you first look at some of the factors contributing to this problem. On the other hand, you can always apply for help to our essay writer  and forget about the worries with your studies.

How to approach your thesis?

Make them see the bigger picture

People know and understand that climate warming is directly associated with pollution. But they also need to see a bigger picture here. The research paper topics and climate change topics for presentation that can work here include:

• What’s the mechanism behind the occurrence of climatic change?
• How do large corporations contribute to climate variation?
• How is deforestation associated with weather changes?
• Do our daily activities somehow contribute to temperature changes?

Focus on solutions to the contributing factors

From here, you can always focus on writing about the solutions to these problems. Your essays can provide various recommendations on how corporations and individuals can keep their environmental impact down to a minimum. Here are some interesting climate change research subjects you can write about:

• How can global corporations reduce their environmental impact?
• Examples of corporations who have successfully reduced their environmental impact.
• Can renewable energy and reforestation assist in climatic variation?
• Is weather warming an inescapable trend, or can it be reversed?

What measures have been taken?

Many countries have passed laws to control climatic variations and decrease environmental damage. And highlighting their efforts to set an example can also be the focus of your writing. Here are some titles that you can focus on:

• Popular national environmental protection policies in different parts of the world.
• Do regulations and laws influence environmental protection?
• Do environmentally-friendly policies impact businesses and individuals?
• How to measure the effectiveness of national/global policies on environmental protection?

The subject of climatic changes does face opposition

Now, despite all the evidence that global heating exists, the subject draws some opposition. Certain politicians, business personalities, and even scientists oppose this global matter, and you can also focus on this in your writing. Here are some points that you can focus on in your term paper:

• Why do people think that global heating is not real?
• Climatic changes: the ultimate proof.
• What are the benefits of the argument against climatic variations?
• Why is or why isn’t weather changes real?

Focus on the effects that have already occurred

You can also back up your argument while focusing on the effects of temperature changes already. Highlighting these points and discussing them in your climate change argumentative essay topics can also get you some extra points. For example,

• How has wildlife already been affected by climatic changes?
• What will be the consequences of these temperature changes if they continue to progress simultaneously?
• How is the air and water revolution impacting the environment?
• Why or why not can a temperature rise cause the end of life on this planet?

Need help with writing a research paper? Get your paper written by a professional writer Get Help Reviews.io 4.9/5

Most Interesting Climate Change Topics to Write About

Can I pay for college papers ? Yes, you can. But if you want to write on your own, there are various interesting subjects. We will list them down for your convenience. Here are some of them to get you going:

• Climate change and its negative impact on cities and its solution.
• The global implications of climate change on tourism and hospitality.
• Climate change and the global security threat.
• Climate change – is capitalism an economical solution or a global problem?
• Addressing climate change and transforming the economy with global resource competition.
• Climate change and its economic cost.
• Behavioral economy and its role in climate, fossil fuels, and energy policy.
• Economic discourse and climate change.
• Climate change and the future.
• Indigenous people and climate change.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis in decreasing climate change effects.
• Asset-based community development and climate change.
• Vulnerabilities of global countries to climate change.

Simple And Easy Research Topics About Climate Change

Maybe you don’t want to get into deep science or the economic impact of climatic changes. And for that, you can keep things simple and easy. Here are some areas that are much less complex and easy to digest:

• Solving the problem of climate change with energy conservation.
• The impact of climate change on the global economy.
• Climate change and international security.
• Weather changes and their impact on the US (or any other country).
• Potential consequences of drastic temperature variations.
• Climate changes and the international collaborations to sort it out.
• The challenges that our humanity faces – are climatic changes and technology.
• Transportation’s impact on global temperature and energy consumption.
• Climate changes policy development and human rights.
• The UN and climatic variations.
• The negative impact of global warming on biodiversity.
• Does the aviation industry have to deal with climate variation?
• The theories and concepts of climatic variation governance.
• Carbon dioxide gas emissions and climate change impacts.
• How are ocean acidification and climatic variations related?
• Is geoengineering the possible weather changes response?
• The misconceptions associated with climatic changes and CO2 emissions.
• Air pollution, soil degradation, and global change.

Major Topics on Climate Change for Academic Writing

Here are some climate change title ideas to write on when discussing this issue in your academic writing:

• Is global climate change causing irregular weather patterns?
• How is climate change associated with disappearing rainforests?
• The effects of global warming on air quality in urban towns.
• Greenhouse effect and global warming and their possible health risks.
• Is climate change affecting the food chain?
• How global warming and climate change is affecting agriculture?
• How does climate change work, and how can environmental conservation help?
• Is climate change dangerous to humanity and its existence?
• How can we minimize climate change’s effects on human health?
• Does climate change affect healthcare?
• Impact of climate change on life quality in urban and rural sites.
• Does warmer temperature boost allergy-related illnesses?
• Is climate change a risk to all life on earth?
• Do climate change and global natural disasters correlate?
• Does climate change influence the population of the planet?
• Is climate change related to global warming?
• Has global warming caused extreme heating in sub-urbs?
• Do wildfires relate to climate change and global warming?
• How does climate change affect the global habitat?

Cool Climate Change Research Topics

If you want to focus on some cool climate change research topics, here are some to consider:

• Global warming is not a myth.
• Car emissions effects and temperature rise.
• Al Gore’s global warming speech.
• Climatic changes and all the seriousness associated with it.
• Climatic variations and the rising sea level across the globe.
• Effects of climatic changes on animal life.
• When nature is in agony – climate change.
• Climate change and its association with extreme weather.
• Climate change – remedies and human activities.
• Global warming is humanity’s fault.
• Climate change and the altering disease patterns.
• Does denying climate change affect animal life?
• Is climate change directly responsible for species’ extinction?
• Temperature changes and their economic, physical, and social effects.

The essay points that we have listed above work as a map. You can use this map to get all the directions for writing a classy essay on the concern of environmental changes. But make sure, to begin with, proper exploration of the grand subject. Of course, you can always use our  paper writing service to receive great results in your studies.

Identify your interests, and then brainstorm your theme based on those interests. That’s the only way you will stay hooked to your essay, and that’s how you keep your readers hooked too.

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AI weather forecasts can capture destructive path of major storms, new study shows

by University of Reading

Artificial intelligence (AI) can quickly and accurately predict the path and intensity of major storms, a new study demonstrates.

The research, based on an analysis of November 2023's Storm Ciarán, suggests weather forecasts that use machine learning can produce predictions of similar accuracy to traditional forecasts faster, cheaper, and using less computational power.

Published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science , the University of Reading study highlights the rapid progress and transformative potential of AI in weather prediction.

Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez, who led the study, said, "AI is transforming weather forecasting before our eyes. Two years ago, modern machine learning techniques were rarely being applied to make weather forecasts. Now we have multiple models that can produce 10-day global forecasts in minutes.

"There is a great deal we can learn about AI weather forecasts by stress-testing them on extreme events like Storm Ciarán. We can identify their strengths and weaknesses and guide the development of even better AI forecasting technology to help protect people and property. This is an exciting and important time for weather forecasting."

Promise and pitfalls

To understand the effectiveness of AI-based weather models, scientists from the University of Reading compared AI and physics-based forecasts of Storm Ciarán—a deadly windstorm that hit northern and central Europe in November 2023 which claimed 16 lives in northern Europe and left more than a million homes without power in France.

The researchers used four AI models and compared their results with traditional physics-based models. The AI models, developed by tech giants like Google, Nvidia and Huawei, were able to predict the storm's rapid intensification and track 48 hours in advance. To a large extent, the forecasts were 'indistinguishable' from the performance of conventional forecasting models, the researchers said.

The AI models also accurately captured the large-scale atmospheric conditions that fueled Ciarán's explosive development, such as its position relative to the jet stream—a narrow corridor of strong high-level winds.

The machine learning technology underestimated the storm's damaging winds, however. All four AI systems underestimated Ciarán's maximum wind speeds, which in reality gusted at speeds of up to 111 knots at Pointe du Raz, Brittany. The authors were able to show that this underestimation was linked to some of the features of the storm , including the temperature contrasts near its center, that were not well predicted by the AI systems.

To better protect people from extreme weather like Storm Ciarán, the researchers say further investigation of the use of AI in weather prediction is urgently needed. Development of machine learning models could mean artificial intelligence is routinely used in weather prediction in the near future, saving forecasters time and money.

Journal information: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

Provided by University of Reading

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Details of hurricane Ian's aftermath captured with new remote sensing method

Study first to use lidar, aerial imagery to remotely assess structural damage and beach structural changes.

Category 4 Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida's Lee County on Sept. 28, 2022, battering the region with wind speeds of 155 miles per hour and storm surge up to 13 feet -- the highest storm surge documented in Southwest Florida in the past 150 years.

In the aftermath of a disaster, rapidly assessing damage is critical for rescue, recovery and emergency planning. Damage assessments are typically conducted through field reconnaissance deployments, which can be labor-intensive, costly and risky. Moreover, field-based emergency response assessments can be hindered by delays and other setbacks due to the severity of the damage and the inability to access the hardest hit areas.

Using remote sensing technology, Florida Atlantic University researchers have developed a novel technique that provides rapid, high-resolution assessments of detailed damage after a hurricane. Using aerial imagery data and LiDAR, they identified the hardest-hit areas of Southwest Florida's Estero Island and estimated the extent of structural damage. Researchers also compared pre- and post-storm structural or morphological changes to the beach. The study is the first to apply an advanced multi-faceted approach that links damage assessment to post-storm change in the structure of barrier islands.

Results of the study, published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering , identified a total of 2,427 structures on Estero Island that were impacted by Hurricane Ian, with 170 structures suffering extensive damage. A single store was the only structure in the study area classified as "not affected."

Using data from the Lee County tax appraiser, researchers estimated the total assessed value of the heavily damaged structures at more than $200 million.

Overall, 734 buildings had 30 to 50 percent structural damage, the majority of which were single-family and multi-unit residences. Researchers identified 158 buildings that were severely damaged with partial or complete roof failure.

The highest percentage of damaged structures occurred on the central and northern portions of the island, where most of the structures were single-family and multi-family residences. Most of the structures that experienced 0 to 30 percent damage were classified as low-rise condominiums (three stories or less), commercial shopping centers and stores. Among the "severely damaged" and "destroyed" structures were seven mobile home subdivisions.

"Employing this advanced technology of aerial imagery and airborne LiDAR enabled us to collect extensive data from Hurricane Ian's aftermath and analyze large-scale datasets rather quickly," said Tiffany Roberts Briggs, Ph.D., senior author, chair and an associate professor in the Department of Geosciences within FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

The 2,427 structures were built between 1963 to 2019. The buildings in the areas where less damage was observed were built between 1963 and 1981. Similarly, in the areas of heavy damage, the majority of the buildings were built between 1963 and 1981. The spatial distribution of ground elevation and year built indicated no apparent trends associated with these two variables.

"We found no correlation between the ground elevation or year built for the extent of damages in this analysis, which emphasizes the role of the extreme inundation and importance of other factors contributing to vulnerability," said Roberts Briggs. "Results from our study can help improve disaster planning by developing new policies and guidelines for coastal development in some of the most vulnerable and storm-exposed areas."

Areas associated with little to no damage were spatially clustered in the southern and central portion of the island, with most structures concentrated on the landward side of the barrier island.

"The southern portion of Estero Island contains multiple saltwater marshes," said Leanne Hauptman, first author and a Ph.D. student in FAU's Department of Geosciences. "Because of these saltwater marshes, storm-wave energy may been substantially dissipated by friction by the time the waves reached the barrier interior, potentially lessening the impact on the structures in that area."

Findings also showed substantial post-storm debris and sand deposition across the entire island, and a notable deposition of sediment across the roadways and on the backside of the barrier, which is not readily returned seaward to the beach under post-storm conditions. Ponding water also was found hundreds of meters inland near buildings and other structures, providing evidence of the extent of inundation resulting from the storm.

"Although our study focused on Estero Island, this new remote sensing approach is generalizable," said Diana Mitsova, Ph.D., corresponding author, chair and professor, FAU Department of Urban and Regional Planning within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and an affiliate professor, FAU Department of Geosciences. "As this technology continues to advance and becomes more readily available, it will offer a broad range of high-resolution coverage that can help prioritize emergency response efforts immediately following catastrophic natural disasters and other events."

For the study, analysis of beach morphology was conducted by creating profile graphs to visualize elevation changes over a continuous distance. To measure structural damage, researchers use LiDAR tools to extract building footprints and building heights pre- and post-storm. Building footprints were overlaid on the post-imagery to estimate the total number of damaged buildings as well as the level of damage to each structure.

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Materials provided by Florida Atlantic University . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Leanne Hauptman, Diana Mitsova, Tiffany Roberts Briggs. Hurricane Ian Damage Assessment Using Aerial Imagery and LiDAR: A Case Study of Estero Island, Florida . Journal of Marine Science and Engineering , 2024; 12 (4): 668 DOI: 10.3390/jmse12040668

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Automated Social Science: Language Models as Scientist and Subjects

We present an approach for automatically generating and testing, in silico, social scientific hypotheses. This automation is made possible by recent advances in large language models (LLM), but the key feature of the approach is the use of structural causal models. Structural causal models provide a language to state hypotheses, a blueprint for constructing LLM-based agents, an experimental design, and a plan for data analysis. The fitted structural causal model becomes an object available for prediction or the planning of follow-on experiments. We demonstrate the approach with several scenarios: a negotiation, a bail hearing, a job interview, and an auction. In each case, causal relationships are both proposed and tested by the system, finding evidence for some and not others. We provide evidence that the insights from these simulations of social interactions are not available to the LLM purely through direct elicitation. When given its proposed structural causal model for each scenario, the LLM is good at predicting the signs of estimated effects, but it cannot reliably predict the magnitudes of those estimates. In the auction experiment, the in silico simulation results closely match the predictions of auction theory, but elicited predictions of the clearing prices from the LLM are inaccurate. However, the LLM's predictions are dramatically improved if the model can condition on the fitted structural causal model. In short, the LLM knows more than it can (immediately) tell.

This research was made possible by a generous grant from Dropbox Inc. Thanks to Jordan Ellenberg, Benjamin Lira Luttges, David Holtz, Bruce Sacerdote, Paul Röttger, Mohammed Alsobay, Ray Duch, Matt Schwartz, David Autor, and Dean Eckles for their helpful feedback. Author's contact information, code, and data are currently or will be available at http://www.benjaminmanning.io/. Both Benjamin S. Manning and Kehang Zhu contributed equally to this work. John J. Horton is a co-founder of a company, Expected Parrot Inc., using generative AI models for market research. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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Title: mer 2024: semi-supervised learning, noise robustness, and open-vocabulary multimodal emotion recognition.

Abstract: Multimodal emotion recognition is an important research topic in artificial intelligence. Over the past few decades, researchers have made remarkable progress by increasing dataset size and building more effective architectures. However, due to various reasons (such as complex environments and inaccurate labels), current systems still cannot meet the demands of practical applications. Therefore, we plan to organize a series of challenges around emotion recognition to further promote the development of this field. Last year, we launched MER2023, focusing on three topics: multi-label learning, noise robustness, and semi-supervised learning. This year, we continue to organize MER2024. In addition to expanding the dataset size, we introduce a new track around open-vocabulary emotion recognition. The main consideration for this track is that existing datasets often fix the label space and use majority voting to enhance annotator consistency, but this process may limit the model's ability to describe subtle emotions. In this track, we encourage participants to generate any number of labels in any category, aiming to describe the emotional state as accurately as possible. Our baseline is based on MERTools and the code is available at: this https URL .

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How Pew Research Center will report on generations moving forward

Journalists, researchers and the public often look at society through the lens of generation, using terms like Millennial or Gen Z to describe groups of similarly aged people. This approach can help readers see themselves in the data and assess where we are and where we’re headed as a country.

Pew Research Center has been at the forefront of generational research over the years, telling the story of Millennials as they came of age politically and as they moved more firmly into adult life . In recent years, we’ve also been eager to learn about Gen Z as the leading edge of this generation moves into adulthood.

But generational research has become a crowded arena. The field has been flooded with content that’s often sold as research but is more like clickbait or marketing mythology. There’s also been a growing chorus of criticism about generational research and generational labels in particular.

Recently, as we were preparing to embark on a major research project related to Gen Z, we decided to take a step back and consider how we can study generations in a way that aligns with our values of accuracy, rigor and providing a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue.

A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations.

We set out on a yearlong process of assessing the landscape of generational research. We spoke with experts from outside Pew Research Center, including those who have been publicly critical of our generational analysis, to get their take on the pros and cons of this type of work. We invested in methodological testing to determine whether we could compare findings from our earlier telephone surveys to the online ones we’re conducting now. And we experimented with higher-level statistical analyses that would allow us to isolate the effect of generation.

What emerged from this process was a set of clear guidelines that will help frame our approach going forward. Many of these are principles we’ve always adhered to , but others will require us to change the way we’ve been doing things in recent years.

Here’s a short overview of how we’ll approach generational research in the future:

We’ll only do generational analysis when we have historical data that allows us to compare generations at similar stages of life. When comparing generations, it’s crucial to control for age. In other words, researchers need to look at each generation or age cohort at a similar point in the life cycle. (“Age cohort” is a fancy way of referring to a group of people who were born around the same time.)

When doing this kind of research, the question isn’t whether young adults today are different from middle-aged or older adults today. The question is whether young adults today are different from young adults at some specific point in the past.

To answer this question, it’s necessary to have data that’s been collected over a considerable amount of time – think decades. Standard surveys don’t allow for this type of analysis. We can look at differences across age groups, but we can’t compare age groups over time.

Another complication is that the surveys we conducted 20 or 30 years ago aren’t usually comparable enough to the surveys we’re doing today. Our earlier surveys were done over the phone, and we’ve since transitioned to our nationally representative online survey panel , the American Trends Panel . Our internal testing showed that on many topics, respondents answer questions differently depending on the way they’re being interviewed. So we can’t use most of our surveys from the late 1980s and early 2000s to compare Gen Z with Millennials and Gen Xers at a similar stage of life.

This means that most generational analysis we do will use datasets that have employed similar methodologies over a long period of time, such as surveys from the U.S. Census Bureau. A good example is our 2020 report on Millennial families , which used census data going back to the late 1960s. The report showed that Millennials are marrying and forming families at a much different pace than the generations that came before them.

Even when we have historical data, we will attempt to control for other factors beyond age in making generational comparisons. If we accept that there are real differences across generations, we’re basically saying that people who were born around the same time share certain attitudes or beliefs – and that their views have been influenced by external forces that uniquely shaped them during their formative years. Those forces may have been social changes, economic circumstances, technological advances or political movements.

When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation.

The tricky part is isolating those forces from events or circumstances that have affected all age groups, not just one generation. These are often called “period effects.” An example of a period effect is the Watergate scandal, which drove down trust in government among all age groups. Differences in trust across age groups in the wake of Watergate shouldn’t be attributed to the outsize impact that event had on one age group or another, because the change occurred across the board.

Changing demographics also may play a role in patterns that might at first seem like generational differences. We know that the United States has become more racially and ethnically diverse in recent decades, and that race and ethnicity are linked with certain key social and political views. When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation.

Controlling for these factors can involve complicated statistical analysis that helps determine whether the differences we see across age groups are indeed due to generation or not. This additional step adds rigor to the process. Unfortunately, it’s often absent from current discussions about Gen Z, Millennials and other generations.

When we can’t do generational analysis, we still see value in looking at differences by age and will do so where it makes sense. Age is one of the most common predictors of differences in attitudes and behaviors. And even if age gaps aren’t rooted in generational differences, they can still be illuminating. They help us understand how people across the age spectrum are responding to key trends, technological breakthroughs and historical events.

Each stage of life comes with a unique set of experiences. Young adults are often at the leading edge of changing attitudes on emerging social trends. Take views on same-sex marriage , for example, or attitudes about gender identity .

Many middle-aged adults, in turn, face the challenge of raising children while also providing care and support to their aging parents. And older adults have their own obstacles and opportunities. All of these stories – rooted in the life cycle, not in generations – are important and compelling, and we can tell them by analyzing our surveys at any given point in time.

When we do have the data to study groups of similarly aged people over time, we won’t always default to using the standard generational definitions and labels. While generational labels are simple and catchy, there are other ways to analyze age cohorts. For example, some observers have suggested grouping people by the decade in which they were born. This would create narrower cohorts in which the members may share more in common. People could also be grouped relative to their age during key historical events (such as the Great Recession or the COVID-19 pandemic) or technological innovations (like the invention of the iPhone).

By choosing not to use the standard generational labels when they’re not appropriate, we can avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes or oversimplifying people’s complex lived experiences.

Existing generational definitions also may be too broad and arbitrary to capture differences that exist among narrower cohorts. A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations. The key is to pick a lens that’s most appropriate for the research question that’s being studied. If we’re looking at political views and how they’ve shifted over time, for example, we might group people together according to the first presidential election in which they were eligible to vote.

With these considerations in mind, our audiences should not expect to see a lot of new research coming out of Pew Research Center that uses the generational lens. We’ll only talk about generations when it adds value, advances important national debates and highlights meaningful societal trends.

• Age & Generations
• Demographic Research
• Generation X
• Generation Z
• Generations
• Greatest Generation
• Methodological Research
• Millennials
• Silent Generation

Kim Parker is director of social trends research at Pew Research Center

How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Time

Who are you the art and science of measuring identity, u.s. centenarian population is projected to quadruple over the next 30 years, older workers are growing in number and earning higher wages, teens, social media and technology 2023, most popular.

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