Groundwater (GW) representation is simplified in most regional climate models. Here, we introduce a unique Terrestrial Systems Modeling Platform (TSMP) dataset with an explicit representation of GW, in the context of dynamical downscaling of GCMs for climate change studies. We compare the heat events statistics of TSMP and the CORDEX ensemble. Our results show that TSMP systematically simulates fewer heat waves, and they are shorter and less intense.

Injecting SO₂ into the lower stratosphere can temporarily reduce global mean temperature and mitigate some risks associated with climate change, but injecting it at different latitudes and seasons would have different impacts. This study introduces new stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) strategies and explores the importance of the choice of SAI strategy, demonstrating that it notably affects the distribution of aerosol cloud, injection efficiency, and various surface climate impacts.

Snowball Earth refers to a climate in the deep past of the Earth where the whole planet was covered in ice. Waterbelt states, where a narrow region of open water remains at the Equator, have been discussed as an alternative scenario, which might explain how life was able to survive these periods. Here, we demonstrate how waterbelt states are influenced by the thermodynamical sea-ice model used. The sea-ice model modulates snow on ice, ice albedo and ultimately the stability of waterbelt states.

Heavy rainfall in eastern Africa between late 2019 and mid 2020 caused devastating floods and landslides and drove the levels of Lake Victoria to a record-breaking maximum in May 2020. In this study, we characterize the spatial extent and impacts of the floods in the Lake Victoria basin and investigate how human-induced climate change influenced the probability and intensity of the record-breaking lake levels and flooding by applying a multi-model extreme event attribution methodology.

Changes in land use are crucial to achieve lower global warming. However, despite their importance, the effects of these changes on moisture fluxes are poorly understood. We analyse land cover and management scenarios in three climate models involving cropland expansion, afforestation, and irrigation. Results show largely consistent influences on moisture fluxes, with cropland expansion causing a drying and reduced local moisture recycling, while afforestation and irrigation show the opposite.

We used cGENIE, a climate model, to investigate the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) slowdown under a warming scenario. We apply a diagnostic that was used in a previous study (Levang and Schmitt, 2020) to separate the temperature from salinity contribution to this slowdown. We find that, in our model, the initial slowdown of the AMOC was driven by temperature and that salinity takes the lead for the termination of the circulation.

Most solar radiation modification (SRM) simulations assume no physical coupling between mitigation and SRM. We analyze the impact of SRM on photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) and find that almost all regions have reduced PV and CSP potential compared to a mitigated or unmitigated scenario, especially in the middle and high latitudes. This suggests that SRM could pose challenges for meeting energy demands with solar renewable resources.

Under anthropogenic climate change, the hydrological cycle is expected to intensify. However, it is difficult to directly measure the amplification that has occurred over the past decades. Generally, ocean salinity patterns are used to infer this change in the hydrological cycle. Here, we present a new method to do this inference based on linear response theory. We find that over the period 1975–2019, the hydrological cycle has amplified by 5.04 % ± 1.27 % per degree Celsius of surface warming.

Narratives around tipping points, such as the need for positive tipping points in energy transitions to avoid negative Earth system tipping points, do not take into account the entire spectrum of impacts the proposed interventions could have or still rely on narratives that maintain current unsustainable behaviours and marginalize many people. We unpack these ideas in the context of what they mean for the concept of tipping points, using a critical decolonial view from the Global South.

Climate model large ensembles provide a unique and invaluable means for estimating the climate response to external forcing agents and quantify contrasts in model structure. Here, an overview of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) version 2 large ensemble is given along with comparisons to large ensembles from E3SM version 1 and versions 1 and 2 of the Community Earth System Model. The paper provides broad and important context for users of these ensembles.

The carbon budget approach is based on a close linear relationship between the global temperature and cumulative emissions. This article reinterprets the carbon budget approach through the lens of the temperature response to an emission pulse in the role of a Green’s function, or as a generalization of TCRE. It shows that inspecting the simple model’s pulse response allows for a prediction of deviations for any possible emission scenario and derivation of a nonlinear carbon budget equation.

This study is the second in a two-part series in which we explore the dependency of the impacts of stratospheric sulfur injections on both the model employed and the strategy of injection utilized. The study uncovers  uncertainties associated with these techniques to cool climate, highlighting how the simulated climate impacts are dependent on both the selected model and the magnitude of the injections. We also show that estimating precipitation impacts of aerosol injection is a complex task.

Climate change affects the interaction, dependence, and joint occurrence of climate extremes. Here we investigate the joint occurrence of pairs of river floods, droughts, heatwaves, crop failures, wildfires, and tropical cyclones in East Africa under past and future climate conditions. Our results show that, across all future warming scenarios, the frequency and spatial extent of these co-occurring extremes will increase in this region, particularly in areas close to the Nile and Congo rivers.

The planetary boundary framework characterizes major risks of destabilization of the Earth system. We use the comprehensive Earth system model POEM to study the impact of the interacting boundaries for climate change and land system change. Our study shows the importance of long-term effects on carbon dynamics and climate, as well as the need to investigate both boundaries simultaneously and to generally keep both boundaries within acceptable ranges to avoid a catastrophic scenario for humanity.

The fast growth in renewables has led to an economic tipping point for the adoption of renewables. This paper reviews how the cost tipping point in renewables can initiate other social tipping dynamics in the energy transition, and it presents energy communities as a promising and fast-growing niche environment that can exploit and foster such tipping dynamics.

In recent decades three major volcanic eruptions have occurred: Mount Agung in 1963, El Chichón in 1982 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991. In this article we explore the climatic impacts of these volcanic eruptions with a purposefully designed set of simulations from six CMIP6 decadal prediction systems. We analyse the radiative and dynamical responses and show that including the volcanic forcing in these predictions is important to reproduce the observed surface temperature variations.