Global News
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Which impacts of climate change are already being felt in African mountains, and how are local communities adapting to them? Research recently published in the journal Climate and Development explores this question through the eyes of Twa hunter-gatherers living around Mount Kahuzi in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The mountains of Africa host a remarkable range of biodiversity and are home to over 200 million people, providing essential ecosystem services both to those living at higher elevations and those living downstream. They play an essential role in the provision of water and in food production, for example, thanks to their increased levels of rainfall and the high quality of their lands for agriculture. However, despite their importance, little is known about how climate change is already impacting African mountains and the people living on and around them – and which, if any, adaptation strategies are being adopted in response. New research published in the journal Climate and Development seeks to shed some light on this.
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Scientists studying tropical forests in Africa’s mountains were surprised to uncover how much carbon they store, and how fast some of these forests are being cleared.
The international study reported 25 August in Nature, found that intact tropical mountain (or montane) forests in Africa store around 150 tonnes of carbon per hectare. This means that keeping a hectare of forest standing saves CO2 emissions equivalent to powering 100 homes with electricity for one year.
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The near-surface zero degree line (ZDL) is a key isotherm in mountain regions worldwide, but a detailed analysis of methods for determining the ZDL and their applicability in a changing climate is missing. Focusing on the Swiss Alps, a recent paper published in the International Journal of Climatology intercompares different approaches to determine the near-surface ZDL on a monthly scale, and investigates the past evolution of the ZDL in the Swiss Alps.
Atmospheric isotherms (i.e., lines of equal or constant air temperature) are a central concept in climatology. Their near-surface patterns are used in climate classification and climate zoning and inform the spatial and vertical distribution of ecosystems and of cryospheric components of the hydrological cycle. In mountainous terrain, a special isotherm is of particularly high relevance: the zero degree line (ZDL). The ZDL roughly separates regions where precipitation predominantly falls as snow or as rain. It is connected to both the snowline and the equilibrium line of glaciers.
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The International Glaciological Society has announced the 2021 winners of its honorary awards.
The International Glaciological Society was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in practical and scientific aspects of snow and ice. The Society recognizes achievements in glaciology and contributions to the development of the science through its three honorary awards.
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On 14 August 2021, researchers measured the southern peak of Sweden's highest mountain, Kebnekaise, at 2,094.6 meters above sea level. This is the lowest height since measurements began in the 1940s, and almost two meters lower than the same time last year.
From the mid-1940s on, there has been an unbroken series of measurements of Kebnekaise's southern peak, carried out by researchers at Stockholm University's research station in Tarfala. The measurements show that the south peak's snow drift varied in both height and shape during the 20th century. The height varies two to three meters between summer and winter. Normally, the peak is at its highest in May and lowest in September.
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The World Climate Research Programme Academy aims to support scientists in accessing the training they need to meet future challenges. As part of this, they have launched a global stocktake of training needs – and they need your input! Survey deadline 26 November 2021.
Now, more than ever, the world needs climate scientists. A key part of building the climate research workforce needed to address the challenges of this century is broadening access to climate science training. The WCRP Academy is one of the new lighthouse activities of the World Climate Research Programme, designed to make positive steps towards giving more scientists access to the training they need to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
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Human activity has warmed the planet at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years, a landmark IPCC report says. Continued inaction will have dire consequences across every corner of the globe, from the depths of the oceans to the highest peaks of our changing mountains.
The language in the most recent United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is stark: it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and land – and the resulting changes to many of our planetary support systems are irreversible over hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
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New research provides the first scientific evidence of overwintering fires in Alaska and Canada boreal forests. Due to climate change, these “zombie fires” appear to be increasing in frequency.
The study published in Nature was led by Vrije University Amsterdam with co-authors at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Alaska Fire Service. The researchers found that extreme summer temperatures and intense burning enable some wildfires to smolder in peat beneath snow during winter, even when temperatures drop to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. When warm and dry conditions arrive in spring, these fires flare up.
