Heatwaves: how do scientists forecast them? 5 climate change stories to read this week

The past month has seen heatwaves affect many parts of the planet, from North America to Europe. One way of reducing the impact on societies caused by heatwaves is early forecasting, allowing meteorologists "to share life-saving information days in advance", explains one scientist.

Despite the challenges of climate change, groups of simulations called 'ensembles' use different inputs to account for inaccuracies in forecasts and show the most likely outcome.

Learn more about the ever-improving accuracy of weather forecasting and its importance.

The blue economy refers to the millions of jobs worldwide that are created from the ocean. Despite the economic value of these coastal and marine resources, harmful human practices such as overfishing, marine pollution and global warming are damaging the health of the ocean.

Countries in the Eastern Caribbean are at the forefront of global efforts to defend and boost the blue economy, particularly crucial to their economy as tourism among these countries accounts for 50% of regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and some 40% of employment.

From supporting conflict resolution related to the ocean to involving underrepresented groups as key stakeholders in decision-making processes, discover how the ocean can be both protected and profitable.

Despite the drop in energy use during 2020, world energy demand quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels as countries came out of lockdowns and emerging economies increased their demand, according to BP.

For the past two years, renewable energy has accounted for more than half of the increase in global power generation, constituting 13% of global power generation in 2021. Despite this, the world is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels.

Read more on the state of the world's energy.

A new study has found that widespread pressure on green water - rainwater available to plants in soil - has surpassed a critical limit.

Global food production is reliant on green water, so action is vital. From adopting sustainable farming practices to improving governance of green water, explore how we can protect this vital resource.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how in a globalized world, disaster risks are much more inherent and their impacts are felt in sync around the world. To effectively tackle issues ranging from climate disasters to global health emergencies, knowledge exchange must improve to bolster resilience to global risks, according to the World Bank.

Read more to learn how knowledge sharing has improved responses to previous global shocks and the lessons we can learn.