Climate Change

China’s success in improving air quality by cutting polluting emissions may have a negative knock-on effect on climate change overall, a new study has found.

Climate warming will alter marine community compositions as species are expected to shift poleward, significantly impacting the Arctic marine ecosystem.

Looking for experts who can comment on natural disasters when they occur, or disaster planning and research? We have compiled a list of experts from across Asia prepared to speak with journalists on a wide range of disaster types and issues.

An international consortium of researchers under the aegis of CMIP6 has calculated new estimates for the melting of Earth’s ice sheets due to greenhouse gas emissions and its impact on sea levels, showing that the ice sheets could together contribute more than 40 cm by the end of 2100.

Scientists at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, develop a novel “heterostructured” photocatalyst using titanium and copper, two abundant and relatively inexpensive metals. Their cost-effective synthesis procedure, coupled with the high stability of the photocatalyst, provides an economically feasible way to convert waste carbon dioxide and water into useful hydrocarbon fuels using endless sunlight.

Ice is melting at a surprisingly fast rate underneath Shirase Glacier Tongue in East Antarctica due to the continuing influx of warm seawater into the Lützow-Holm Bay.

Hong Kong has been experiencing hotter summers and more scorcher days in recent years due to climate change and heat island effect. Amid the increasing number of “hot nights”, it is found that consecutive “hot nights” are more detrimental to human health than “very hot days”, although the actual temperature does not reach the level of daytime, according to a collaborative research conducted by the Institute of Future Cities at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), as well as researchers from the University of Hong Kong. The research also identified that lack of urban greenery and poor air ventilation in a high-density context are factors that lead to more “hot nights” than “hot days” in some areas. The team suggests that better urban planning and building design are long-term mitigation measures.

An international collaborative study led by Professor Derrick Yuk Fo Lai at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), joined by top-tier scientists from around the world, has discovered that sustained methane emissions from the subtropical estuarine mangroves can reduce its climatic cooling effects by over 50%, over a period of 20 years. The team produced the world’s first-ever multi-year dataset of ecosystem-scale methane emissions from a subtropical estuarine mangrove based on the data collected at Mai Po Nature Reserve in Hong Kong, which points out that global warming and greater river runoff may lead to increasing methane emissions. The findings have recently been published in Global Change Biology, a top-tier journal in the field of biodiversity conservation and environmental science.

This research focuses on formic acid (HCOOH) (which can be produced from carbon dioxide) as a vehicle to store hydrogen. This research brings clarity to the mechanism of hydrogen production which has befuddled scientists until now.

Even though the deeper layers of the ocean are warming at a slower pace than the surface, animals living in the deep ocean are more exposed to climate warming and will face increasing challenges to maintain their preferred thermal habitats in the future.

Springer Nature Group commits to be net carbon neutral this year, as part of an ongoing reduction in emissions and broader responsible business programme.

A joint research group at Osaka City University and Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. have succeeded to synthesize black phosphorus with one-pot solvothermal reaction with red phosphorus in ethylenediamine used as a solvent.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has presenter in-depth study of the interaction mechanism between the lignin nanofilms.

Policymakers will need to step up to the challenges caused by significant shifts in fish species distributions caused by climate change.

Study explores strategies that could help reduce emissions from the transport industry

Mayor Cheol-ho Song (Ulsan, South Korea) visited the startup facilities of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) on January 4, 2020.

South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with NASA in the United States, have successfully analyzed the main patterns of atmospheric circulation affecting the Arctic sea ice.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has unveiled a novel biomass conversion technology that can turn forestry biomass residues (i.e., sawdust from timber logging) into higher value fuels and chemicals.

A material aims to deliver a one-two punch: recycling atmospheric carbon dioxide for the production of more sustainable hydrocarbon fuels.

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore has found that the effective population size and genetic diversity of Singapore’s Cynopterus brachyotis, believed to remain widely unaffected by urbanisation, has shrunk significantly over the last 90 years – revealing that the current biodiversity crisis may be much broader than widely assumed, affecting even species thought to be common and tolerant of fragmentation and habitat loss.

IAP outlines a set of measures to protect forests and fight climate change in response to the ongoing global crisis surrounding deforestation and forest burning

Cold waves triggered by sea ice loss in the Arctic are memorized in the Eurasian Continent, amplifying cooling in the winters to follow, according to a joint research team between Hokkaido University and Niigata University in Japan.

Global simulations suggest plankton and fish species are showing resilience to climate change by going deeper underwater or moving to higher latitudes.

Bamboo, lime and mud are traditional materials being used innovatively in southern India to rebuild homes that can withstand the impact of recurring floods.

The captured CO2 can be converted into useful organic materials.

Helsinki is preparing the international one million euro Helsinki Energy Challenge competition to find a solution for replacing coal in the most sustainable way possible.

Call for Proposals - deadline 10 November 2019

Do you have new research to share about anthropology, archeology, paleontology, sociology, climate change or endangered species? You could win the opportunity to highlight your research in Asia Research News 2020.

Variations in the depth of snow cover in the Arctic region from late winter to spring determines the summer temperature pattern in Eurasia, according to Hokkaido University researchers. In particular, deeper-than-usual snow cover in Western Russia enhanced the likelihood of summer heat waves in Europe and Northeast Asia in recent years.

UK Research and Innovation and its partners are funding 13 research programs, building collaborations across 10 countries, including Japan, China, Singapore and India.