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Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) represent a pivotal technology for enhancing the utilization of renewable energy in buildings. However, challenges persist, including the lack of integrated design models, limited analytical dimensions, and insufficient consideration of climate change impacts. This study proposes a comprehensive performance assessment framework for BIPV that incorporates global climate change factors. An integrated simulation model is developed using EnergyPlus8.9.0, Optics6, and WINDOW7.7 to evaluate BIPV configurations such as photovoltaic facades, shading systems, and roofs. A multi-criteria evaluation system is established, encompassing global warming potential (GWP), power generation, energy flexibility, and economic cost. Future hourly weather data for the 2050s and 2080s are generated using CCWorldWeatherGen under representative climate scenarios. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to assess performance across variable combinations, supplemented by sensitivity and uncertainty analyses to identify key influencing factors. Results indicate (1) critical design parameters—including building orientation, wall thermal absorptance, window-to-wall ratios, PV shading angle, glazing optical properties, equipment and lighting power density, and occupancy—significantly affect overall performance. Equipment and lighting densities most influence carbon emissions and flexibility, whereas envelope thermal properties dominate cost impacts. PV shading outperforms other forms in power generation. (2) Under intensified climate change, GWP and life cycle costs increase, while energy flexibility declines, imposing growing pressure on system performance. However, under certain mid-century climate conditions, BIPV power generation potential improves due to altered solar radiation. The study recommends integrating climate-adaptive design strategies with energy systems such as PEDF (photovoltaic, energy storage, direct current, and flexibility), refining policy mechanisms, and advancing BIPV deployment with climate-resilient approaches to support building decarbonization and enhance adaptive capacity.

The main reservoir hosts of nematodes of the genus Trichinella are wild carnivores, although most human infections are caused by the consumption of pork. This group of zoonotic parasites completes the entire natural life cycle within the host organism. However, there is an important phase of the cycle that has only been highlighted in recent years and which concerns the permanence of the infecting larvae in the striated muscles of the host carcasses waiting to be ingested by a new host. To survive in this unique biological niche, Trichinella spp. larvae have developed an anaerobic metabolism for their survival in rotting carcasses and, for some species, a resistance to freezing for months or years in cold regions. Climate changes with increasingly temperatures and reduction of environmental humidity lower the survival time of larvae in host carcasses. In addition, environmental changes affect the biology and ecology of the main host species, reducing their number and age composition due to natural habitat fragmentation caused by increasing human settlements, extensive monocultures, increasing number of food animals, and reduction of trophic chains and biodiversity. All of these factors lead to a reduction in biological and environmental complexity that is the key to the natural host-parasite balance. In conclusion, Trichinella nematodes can be considered as an indicator of a health natural ecosystem.

Climate change remains one of the most significant environmental challenges affecting human societies, requiring individuals and institutions to develop effective adaptation practices. This study examined the relationship between environmental literacy and climate change adaptation practices among university students. The study adopted a correlational research design. The population consisted of 18,750 undergraduate students of the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, during the 2025/2026 academic session. A sample of 377 students was selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Environmental Literacy and Climate Change Adaptation Practices Questionnaire (ELCCAPQ). The instrument was validated by experts and tested for reliability using Cronbach Alpha coefficient. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that environmental knowledge, environmental attitudes, and environmental skills had significant relationships with climate change adaptation practices among university students. The study also found that environmental literacy significantly predicted students’ climate change adaptation practices. The study concluded that environmental literacy is an important factor in promoting sustainable behaviours and improving students’ capacity to respond to climate change challenges. It was recommended that universities should strengthen environmental education programmes, provide practical opportunities for students to engage in sustainability activities, and develop supportive institutional policies that encourage climate change adaptation practices.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a method for perturbing Weather Generators (WGs) for future decades and to assess its effectiveness. Here the procedure is applied to the WG implemented within the UKCP09 package and assessed using data from a Regional Climate Model (RCM) simulation which provides a significant 'climate change' between a control run period and a distant future. The WG is normally calibrated on observed data. For this study, data from an RCM control period (1961-1990) was used, then perturbed using the procedure. Because only monthly differences between the RCM control and scenario periods are used to perturb the WG, the direct daily RCM scenario may be considered as unseen data to assess how well the perturbation procedure reproduces the direct RCM simulations for the future.

This paper asks how climate change cartoons work to communicate geopolitical visions of time, space and power. I make the argument that visuality is integral to climate change communication in ways that are frequently paradoxical. Dominant visual forms of evidence and iconic images help to make climate change real while simultaneously impeding full understanding of the debates and issues around climate change. In this context, at a time when visuality and climate change discourse have become co-constitutive, the paper explores the capacity of political cartoons to effectively represent the geopolitics of climate change. The empirical focus is the data set of cartoons submitted in 2008 to an international political cartoon competition called Earthworks. The entries collectively represent different geopolitical visions of climate change. They also suggest a critical role for cartoons in climate change communication – not as purveyors of visual evidence of climate change but as effective forms of visual commentary on the relations of power and knowledge within which climate change communication and debates are located.

Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.cv.Polkka)and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Hudson cv. Kalevi)cwere grown in ambient and elevated (700 µl l -1 )carbon dioxide concentration both at present ambient temperatures and at temperatures 3°C higher than at present simulating a future climate.The CO2 concentrations were elevated in large (3 m in diameter)open top chambers and the temperatures in a greenhouse built over the experimental field.The photosynthetic rate of both wheat and meadow fescue was 31 –37%higher in elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2 )than in ambient CO 2 (aCO2 )throughout the growing season.The enhancement in wheat photosynthesis in eCO2 declined 10 –13 days before yellow ripeness,at which point the rate of photosynthesis in both CO 2 treatments declined.The stomatal conductance of wheat and meadow fescue was 23–36% lower in eCO2 than in aCO2 .The amount and activity of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) in wheat were lower under conditions of eCO2 ,except at elevated temperatures in 1993 when there was a clear yield increase.There was no clear change in the amount and activity of Rubisco in meadow fescue under eCO2 at either elevated or ambient temperature.This suggests that adaptation to elevated CO2 at biochemical level occurs only when there is insufficient sink for photosynthetic products.While the sink size of wheat can be increased only by introducing new,more productive genotypes,the sink size of meadow fescue can be regulated by fitting the cutting schedule to growth.;

The UK's eight proposed new nuclear power stations are all to be sited on the coast. With a total cradle-to-grave life cycle of at least 160 years, and heightened awareness of inundation risk following the failure of the Fukushima I nuclear plant in Japan this year Britain's nuclear developers have to show how they plan to cope with the possibility of rising sea levels, higher sea temperatures and more extreme weather events over the next two centuries. This paper describes the adaptation options for new nuclear and other major long-lived coastal developments. Despite uncertainty about climate scenarios for the 2200s, it explains how flexibility of design and safety margins can be incorporated from the outset and, when combined with routine environmental monitoring, how sites can be adaptively managed throughout their life cycles.

Abstract There is a lively debate about the legitimacy of the international climate regime, as represented by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the quality of non-state actor participation in the regime. This commentary examines perceptions of involved non-state actors from 2021–2022 regarding their participation and regime legitimacy. The findings reveal no legitimacy crisis for the adaptation and mitigation regimes, but the surveyed NSAs are divided in their legitimacy beliefs. NSAs also express significant disappointment about their opportunities for participation.

Conservation areas are increasingly seen as crucial for addressing biodiversity loss and climate change, yet their expansion often produces socio-economic tensions with adjacent communities, particularly where governance is exclusionary. This study examines perceptions of equity, resource access, and governance among rural communities and private game reserve officials in the Makana Local Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It also investigates how climate variability intensifies these challenges by deepening local vulnerability. Guided by vulnerability and participatory governance theory, the study adopted a qualitative, interpretivist approach. Data were collected between July and August 2024 through 58 in-depth interviews with community members, 2 focus group discussions and 5 key informant interviews with conservation managers and community leaders. The study focused on communities surrounding Amakhala and Lalibela Game Reserves, including Alicedale, Seven Fountains, and Kraabos. Findings reveal that while some benefits from conservation exist—such as employment and limited outreach, these are perceived as symbolic, precarious, and inequitably distributed. Communities report restricted access to land, water, and sacred sites, with governance processes experienced as opaque and exclusionary. Climate variability, particularly erratic rainfall and drought, exacerbates these vulnerabilities by undermining agricultural livelihoods and intensifying resource scarcity. The study concludes that socially just and climate-resilient conservation in South Africa requires a shift from rhetorical inclusion to meaningful participation, transparent governance, and equitable benefit-sharing. Aligning conservation with local rights, needs, and adaptive capacities is essential for enhancing both biodiversity protection and community resilience.

The Samara River is a left-bank tributary of the Volga with a total basin area of 46,500 km2, of which 22,800 km2 is the gauged area analyzed in this study. This river system serves as a case study for examining hydrological transformations in the extreme southeastern region of European Russia (the Southern Cis-Urals) driven by progressive climate change and historical land-use shifts. To achieve this, the study analyzes long-term, station-based gauge observations of monthly river runoff for the period 1933–2022. The methodology employs a baseline set of standard statistical criteria combined with specialized hydromathematical procedures to evaluate runoff structure. The results demonstrate that while the river’s annual runoff lacked a statistically significant trend, its intra-annual structure underwent profound transformations. While April and May exhibited non-significant declines, the vast majority of months demonstrated prominent upward runoff trends. This systematic increase compressed the amplitude between hydrologically contrasting months by a factor of 2.5 to 3 from the historical climatological baseline (1933–1960) period to the modern baseline (1991–2020) period. Since 1989, the intra-annual variability coefficient has decreased by approximately one-third, especially during low-flow years. Concurrently, the spring flood contribution decreased by approximately 25%, and the frequency of prolonged, three- to four-month snowmelt-driven freshets during the 1987–2022 period doubled to ~22% compared to the preceding period, whereas the summer–autumn and winter low-flow shares increased substantially. Spectral analysis demonstrates a structural asymmetry in runoff generation mechanisms: low-flow dynamics are predominantly governed by long-term macrocycles (spanning 11 years or more), whereas maximum discharge exhibits a complex spectral configuration rather than a purely stochastic white noise process, reflecting an underlying statistical ambiguity between the applied criteria. Finally, five alternating multiyear flow phases occurred since 1933, characterized by low-flow conditions during 1933–1945, 1966–1984, and 2014–2022, and high-flow conditions during 1946–1965 and 1985–2013, with the respective contributions of the spring snowmelt flood and low-flow runoff differing substantially across these phases. This research advances the understanding of regional river runoff transformations in the Anthropocene, providing an objective basis for long-term water balance forecasting in the Southern Cis-Urals, strategic environmental management, climate change adaptation, and environmental risk assessment.

The crucial role of plant photosynthesis has been emphasized in relation to the atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate change. Because of the irreplaceable role of plants in ecosystem services, potential changes of both crop and wild plants could impact sustainability of human societies. The dependence of the rate of photosynthesis of the C3 and C4 plants on irradiance, CO2 concentration and temperature has been illustrated. Potential consequences of the atmospheric CO2 concentration rise and climate change on ecosystem composition and functions are briefly described.(In Czech, English summary only)

Climate change is now evident and severe water shortage due to unpredictable raining season along with extended summers is expected to hamper crop production across the globe. Application of nanoparticle based formulations is one of the most sought after approach that is being explored currently to alleviate drought stress impact on plants. The present study was aimed to evaluate the potential of biosynthesized silica nanoparticles (silica NPs) in improving the drought tolerance of wheat. Four different concentrations of silica NPs (30, 60, 90, and 120 ppm) were used to treat wheat plants grown under two irrigation regimes- 50% soil moisture content (drought) and 100% soil moisture content (well-watered). The induced drought caused a prominent reduction in both - the crop yield and the morphological parameters of the crop. Foliar application of silica NPs at all concentrations, increased the plant's tolerance towards water stress but 60 ppm concentration was found to be most effective amongst all. After treatment with silica NPs at 60 ppm concentration, the plant height increased by 8.28%, spikes per plant by 98%, seeds per spike by 12.4%, and thousand seed weight by 37.5% as compared to the control. Besides this, expression levels of four drought-stress responsive genes-ABC1, Wdhn13, CHP, and EXP2 was also studied. We observed an enhanced expression of all the stress genes after treatment with silica nanoparticles in wheat plants grown under water deficient conditions, clearly supporting the influence of NP treatment at gene/molecular level. In nutshell, we conclude that silica nanoparticles have the potential to significantly ameliorate the negative impact of drought stress by reviving plant growth and modulating gene expression.

Incomplete understanding of three aspects of the climate system—equilibrium climate sensitivity, rate of ocean heat uptake and historical aerosol forcing—and the physical processes underlying them lead to uncertainties in our assessment of the global-mean temperature evolution in the twenty-first century1,2. Explorations of these uncertainties have so far relied on scaling approaches3,4, large ensembles of simplified climate models1,2, or small ensembles of complex coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models5,6 which under-represent uncertainties in key climate system properties derived from independent sources7–9. Here we present results from a multi-thousand-member perturbed-physics ensemble of transient coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model simulations. We find that model versions that reproduce observed surface temperature changes over the past 50 years show global-mean temperature increases of 1.4–3 K by 2050, relative to 1961–1990, under a mid-range forcing scenario. This range of warming is broadly consistent with the expert assessment provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report10, but extends towards larger warming than observed in ensemblesof- opportunity5 typically used for climate impact assessments. From our simulations, we conclude that warming by the middle of the twenty-first century that is stronger than earlier estimates is consistent with recent observed temperature changes and a mid-range 'no mitigation' scenario for greenhouse-gas emissions.

Risk analysis and appraisal of the benefits of structural flood risk management measures such as embankments is well established. Here, a method to quantify, over extended timescales, the effectiveness of non-structural measures such as land use spatial planning, insurance and flood resilient construction is presented. The integrated approach couples socio-economic and climate change scenarios with long term land use modelling and flood risk analysis to generate maps and time series of expected annual damages. The analysis has been applied on a case study in the Thames Estuary in the UK. Stakeholders helped develop a number of scenarios that might lead to substantial changes in existing planning and insurance policies in the UK. The effectiveness of these changes was analysed and showed the substantial benefits in terms of reduction of future flood risks that are achievable with changes in planning policy, financial incentives and resilient property construction in the floodplain. Moreover, the reward can be increased through earlier action. Subsequently, the benefits of a range of policies are explored under the UK Foresight socio-economic scenarios. Different structural and non structural flood management interventions are tested and the results demonstrate that despite the potential for large increases in flood risk in the Thames Estuary, in all scenarios substantial flood risk reductions are possible. The effectiveness of non-structural measures is however sensitive to socio-economic changes and governance arrangements. The analysis described here will help to identify portfolios of nonstructural and structural options that are robust to uncertainties. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.