climate change

The 2026 report by The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change reveals that many of the health risks and harms arising from climate change increased more rapidly in the decade since the signing of the Paris Agreement (2016–2025) than in the previous decade (2006–2015). The report, which draws on the work of 146 researchers from more than 30 countries, calls for climate change to be officially recognised and addressed as a global health emergency, and for health to set the agenda for both climate policies and funding priorities.

More than 50,000 people died as a result of extreme heat in European towns and cities during the summer of 2026 – the highest figure recorded to date – according to two new studies published in Nature Health. After analysing 854 urban areas across 30 countries (the EU-27, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland), researchers from Imperial College and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (United Kingdom) have concluded that climate change resulting from the burning of fossil fuels is responsible for two-thirds of these deaths. The five countries most affected were, in this order, Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the UK. According to these studies, 6,824 people died from heat-related causes in Spain this summer, of whom 77 per cent can be attributed to climate change.

A team from the Netherlands has studied the role that salt marshes might play in protecting coastal areas subject to heavy swells from flooding. To this end, they transported and installed 306 square metres of salt marsh and vegetation in the Delta Flume, one of the world’s largest wave flumes. After 21 hours of exposure to waves up to two metres high, they found that the vegetation can reduce wave height by more than 10 per cent and by up to 50 per cent on low-energy marshy coasts — that is, those where waves reach a maximum of one metre. According to the authors, the restoration and conservation of salt marshes on storm-exposed coasts could be a promising strategy for mitigating the effects of storms. The findings are published in Nature.

A study led by the CSIC, which has analysed more than four million records of wild bees and hoverflies — known as flower flies — in Europe over the last century, shows that the majority of bee species and approximately half of the hoverfly species have experienced a decline. The study, published in PNAS, covers data on 88 per cent of these species and highlights that, by region, there were declines in the Atlantic and continental zones for both groups of pollinators, whilst recent increases were observed in the Alpine region in the case of bees.

Although human-caused mercury emissions have been declining since 1990 in Europe and North America and since 2010 in East Asia, large reserves have accumulated in the soil and water. A Perspective article published in Science and written by two researchers from the Blas Cabrera Institute of Physical Chemistry at the CSIC warns that climate change—through global warming, wildfires, permafrost thaw, changes in precipitation, and altered ocean conditions—may be increasing the mobilization of accumulated mercury. According to the authors, this phenomenon may exacerbate risks to the environment and the health of humans and other organisms, primarily due to its concentration in shellfish and fish. 

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.

The latest data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service show that this summer in Europe has been characterised by unprecedented heat stress and very low river flows. In fact, in Western Europe, this has been the warmest summer on record and the third warmest across the continent as a whole. The European summer has been characterised by extreme heatwaves and drought conditions, with a record 52 per cent of the continent exposed to very intense heat stress by the end of the season. Furthermore, the exceptional heat persisted well beyond the peak summer months, with daily temperature records also being set in May and September.
 

The tenth edition of the Copernicus State of the Ocean Report warns that the oceans are warming at an alarming rate, with consequences for marine life, coastlines and communities around the world. Produced by Mercator Ocean International with contributions from 125 specialists from various countries, the report uses satellite, in situ and modelling data to show that global ocean warming has been accelerating since 1960 and reached its highest level in 2025. With regard to Spain, the report highlights the impact of Storm Louis in late February 2024, which brought waves exceeding eight metres in some places, widespread power cuts, serious disruption at two ports and one fatality. As for the Mediterranean, although sea levels are rising at a similar rate in both the western and eastern Mediterranean, the rate of acceleration in the eastern part is much more pronounced, according to the report.

The Atmosphere Watch analysis, published by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, shows how, in 2026, air pollution has crossed borders and caused nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population to be exposed to high levels of tropospheric ozone. This pollutant is produced when other harmful compounds react with sunlight and high temperatures. The report highlights the massive wildfires in France, Spain and Belgium this summer, which generated significant smoke transport, affecting air quality thousands of kilometres away. Furthermore, across Europe as a whole, successive heatwaves between June and August led to an increase in ozone emissions from local sources, resulting in the health protection limit values being exceeded.  

A study published in Geophysical Research Letters shows that greenhouse gas emissions since the 2015 Paris Agreement are linked to the intensity of the heatwaves recorded in Europe since 2021. For the analysis, the team trained a generative artificial intelligence model and utilised climate models and meteorological observations. “We have found strong evidence that, had the heatwave that struck Europe in the summer of 2025 occurred without the emissions recorded since 2015, it would very likely have been cooler,” the authors state in a press release.