Rey Juan Carlos University

There are inequalities in the mental health of LGBTQIA+ people, supported by highly credible scientific evidence, particularly with regard to depression, suicidal behaviour and symptoms related to eating disorders. These are the main findings of a study led by IDIBAPS and published in the journal World Psychiatry, in which the researchers reviewed 22 systematic reviews with meta-analyses — comprising 398 studies on this topic — and analysed the 162 associations relating to mental health.

A study published in Scientific Reports estimates that the total area occupied by buildings within potentially flood-prone zones near the Himalayas increased by approximately 45 per cent between 2016 and 2023. In total, the study estimates that around 300,000 people could be at risk of flooding in the Nepalese, Indian and Chinese regions of the mountain range. Floods in the Himalayas are usually caused by monsoons, torrential rain or, on rare occasions, by devastating debris flows and glacial lake outbursts — such as the one that occurred last August. Climate change is expected to increase the severity of these events, whilst the narrow, steep valleys of mountainous areas can exacerbate the height of the floods and their consequences.

Women, particularly younger women, are disproportionately affected by painful conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, endometriosis, menstrual migraines, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and neuropathic pain. A review published in Science summarises the latest advances in visceral and somatic pain, highlighting the impact of sex hormones, immunoneural interaction, the gut microbiota and endogenous analgesic circuits. These studies are beginning to explain why women experience more intense pain than men, paving the way for mechanism-based precision therapies. “Women are desperately hoping for concrete answers that can help dispel the common notion that ‘it’s all in your head’ when it comes to their conditions,” the authors note. The research forms part of a Science special issue on women’s health, which includes four further articles.

A combination of geological and climatic factors — the latter influenced by anthropogenic climate change — lay behind the catastrophic rock and ice avalanche last August on Nepal’s northern border, according to a review carried out by World Weather Attribution and glaciology experts. The team carried out an attribution analysis to examine the role of climate change in the rise in temperatures in July and August preceding the collapse, as well as in the region’s rainfall. According to the study, human-induced warming has raised the freezing line by around 100 metres per decade, leading to the thinning of glaciers and the thawing of the permafrost that held the mountain together. These factors, together with the destabilisation caused by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in 2015, are believed to be the main causes of the landslide, which left more than a thousand people dead and thousands missing. 

An international team has analyzed sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and at various points in the Mediterranean Sea. The analysis, published by World Weather Attribution (WWA), shows that this year's temperatures have been extraordinary, both in their intensity and how early they have reached such magnitude. This behavior is not only having an ecological impact on marine life, the authors state, but could also exacerbate potentially destructive regional climate events like those that occurred in Valencia in 2024.

Various studies show that extreme heat is already influencing the decisions of international tourists, who are cutting short their summer holidays in the Mediterranean and opting for coolcations in search of destinations with milder climates. Climate adaptation is becoming a priority and, in the face of increasingly intense heatwaves, may boost the appeal of spring and early autumn.

Two Copernicus services have independently confirmed that global sea surface temperatures have broken records for this time of year. Daily data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service exceeded the 2024 levels on 21 June, reaching 20.86 °C, higher than the 20.83 °C recorded in 2023 and 2024. Data from the Copernicus Marine Watch Service show temperatures of 21.0 °C on 21 June, beating the 2023 and 2024 records by 0.1 °C. This unprecedented warming is linked to the onset of El Niño (announced by the WMO and declared by NOAA on 11 June) and to record-breaking sea surface temperatures in the North Pacific; consequences are anticipated for weather patterns, the global climate and marine ecosystems.

A new study, based on oceanographic data collected by ships and robotic floating buoys over several decades, provides the first evidence that a warm mass of deep circumpolar water is approaching Antarctica, threatening the fragile ice shelves that border it from below. This warming in the Southern Ocean has implications not only for Antarctic ice melt and sea-level rise, but also for global heat regulation, carbon storage and the global climate system. The study is published in Communications Earth & Environment.

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.

The adoption of plant-based diets could reshape agricultural employment worldwide. This is the main conclusion of an international study that estimates that by 2030, between 5% and 28% less agricultural labour would be needed, i.e. between 18 and 106 million fewer full-time jobs. The countries most affected would be those with agriculture based largely on livestock farming, while others, especially low-income countries, could need between 18 and 56 million more workers to grow fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts. The study is published in The Lancet Planetary Health.