climate change

The 2025 wildfire season was the worst the European Union has seen in the last century. According to a report by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), managed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), more than one million hectares were burned last year. Some 43% of that figure was burned in the major fires that occurred in Spain and Portugal during the summer. The report also covers the rest of the European continent, the Middle East, and North Africa, resulting in a total of more than two million hectares of burned area.

The economic costs of CO₂ emissions can be calculated in three ways: through the historical damages resulting from past emissions; through the expected future damages caused by those past emissions; and through the expected future damages from current or future emissions. A study published in Nature concludes that the future economic costs associated with past emissions could be at least ten times higher than the costs already incurred from those same emissions. The authors estimate that one tonne of CO₂ emitted in 1990 caused $180 (around €155) in global damages up to 2020, but will generate an additional $1,840 (nearly €1,590) by 2100. The analysis covers countries, high-net-worth individuals and major companies, as well as behavioural patterns, including taking an additional long-haul flight each year or choosing a non-vegetarian diet.

Physical inactivity driven by rising temperatures due to climate change could result in between 0.47 and 0.70 million additional premature deaths each year by 2050, according to projections from a new study published in The Lancet Global Health. The study analysed data on the relationship between temperature and physical inactivity across 156 countries between 2000 and 2022. Low- and middle-income countries, where access to air conditioning, the availability of shaded public infrastructure, and discretionary leisure time are limited, were the most affected. Spain is among the European countries expected to be most impacted.

Global biodiversity is threatened by human impact, which has already led to the extinction of hundreds of species. However, the known tree of life continues to expand with the discovery of numerous clades (groups of organisms that share a common ancestor and all its descendants), according to a international study pubished in PNAS. According to their estimates, made between 2015 and 2020, more than 700 new genera, more than 20 new families, and more than three new orders are described each year, all based on newly discovered species. According to the authors, many new clades remain undiscovered, and describing them before they become extinct should be a priority for research and conservation.

Forest disturbances in Europe—including fires, insect pest outbreaks, and windstorms—could double by the end of the 21st century compared with the 2001–2020 period if emissions are not reduced. In the case of wildfires, the annual area burned could nearly triple. The Mediterranean region ranks among the most vulnerable, and almost 90% of Mediterranean forests could be affected by increased fires and pest outbreaks under higher warming scenarios. The findings are published in a study in the journal Science involving Spanish research centers such as CREAF, the CTFC and the University of Girona.

Researchers have reviewed nearly 400 scientific articles related to sea level rise and associated risks and concluded that most studies may have underestimated global sea level rise by an average of 0.3 meters. In some areas of the Global South, these levels could be up to 1 meter higher than previously thought. According to the authors, a reassessment of the methodology used to characterize the impact of sea level rise is necessary, as this could have implications for policy, climate finance, and coastal adaptation plans. The study is published in Nature.

The transition zone between land and sea in glaciers is an indicator of their stability. An analysis of satellite measurements from 1992 to 2025 has shown that 77% of Antarctica’s coastline has experienced no change. The 23% that did see a reduction in area was concentrated in regions where deep troughs allow access to warmer waters and where the bed slopes inland. These include the Antarctic Peninsula, Wilkes and George V Lands, and West Antarctica, where retreat of this transition line ranged between 10 and 40 km. A total of 12,800 km² of ice has been lost —an area roughly equivalent to almost half the size of Galicia— most of it in West Antarctica. The results are published in the journal PNAS.

New research analysing more than 33,000 fish populations in the northern hemisphere between 1993 and 2021 reveals that chronic ocean warming is driving a long-term decline in biomass of up to 19.8% per year for species in the Mediterranean, North Atlantic and North-East Pacific. At the same time, in the short term, more fish are thriving in cold areas due to the heat, but these increases are temporary and the authors warn that relying on them would lead to unsustainable exploitation. The study, by the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and the National University of Colombia, is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

An international team involving ISGlobal has analyzed climate data from 50 editions of the Tour de France between 1974 and 2023. The results show that, during the month of July, the risk of heat stress has increased over the years, with the last decade seeing the highest number of extreme heat episodes. In the locations analyzed, the Tour has so far managed to avoid conditions of maximum risk to health, but according to the researchers, it has been "an extremely fortunate race. With record heat waves becoming more frequent, it seems only a matter of time before the Tour faces days of extreme heat stress that will test current safety protocols. The study, published in Scientific Reports, used the Tour de France as an example of the challenge that rising temperatures associated with climate change pose for the organization of sporting events in the summer.

Human-induced climate change amplified the intensity and extent of the rainfall that affected Valencia during the October 2024 dana, according to a new attribution study involving several Spanish research centres. Using climate simulations, the study, published in Nature Communications, shows that present-day global warming conditions increased precipitation intensity by 21 %, expanded the area receiving more than 180 millimetres of rain by 56 %, and raised the total rainfall volume in the Júcar River basin by 19 % compared to a pre-industrial scenario. The authors highlight “the urgent need for effective adaptation strategies and improved urban planning to reduce the growing risks associated with extreme hydrometeorological events in a rapidly warming world.”