Climate Change Information Research Articles

Information sources and climate change mitigation support

This study examined the relationship between information sources and support for climate change mitigation among undergraduates at Adeleke University. A simple random sampling technique was used to survey the students anonymously. Data analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that a majority of the 688 participants expressed support for climate change mitigation actions, such as reducing fossil fuel usage, planting trees, and reducing meat intake. The main sources of climate change information for students were Google, Television, friends, family, Facebook, Radio, YouTube, and Instagram. However, Twitter, newspapers, church/mosque, and religious leaders were not commonly used as primary sources. Notably, sourcing climate change information from newspapers had a significant positive relationship (p = 0.036) with support for mitigation measures. The study concluded that information sources play a crucial role in generating support for climate change mitigation efforts. It recommended promoting newspaper readership to enhance awareness and support for sustainable practices, collaborating with newspapers to feature informative climate change content, engaging with Twitter users for accurate information dissemination, and partnering with religious institutions to incorporate climate change messages into teachings and support grassroots initiatives.

Climate change, risk perceptions and barriers to adaptation among forest growers in New Zealand

ABSTRACT Climate change poses a significant challenge for forest growers. However, understanding climate change adaptation including the behaviour and decisions of forest growers remains unexplored in New Zealand, despite the forestry sector being a significant export leader and major contributor to regional economies. To explore this, we conducted surveys of 60 forest growers from organisations which collectively manage more than 70% of New Zealand’s plantation forests. The results showed that 47% of the respondents perceived that climate change will affect their forest growing, and 60% perceived that climate change will increase wildfire frequency and pest and disease outbreaks. Only 21% of the respondents reported that they had taken adaptation measures directly. Lack of resources and motivation were among the barriers that respondents identified. A logistic regression analysis revealed that climate change perception, research to improve forest growers’ adaptive capacity, climate change information, forest grower age and forestry experience are significantly associated with actual adaptation decisions. Risk perceptions central to protection motivation theory (e.g. vulnerability, probability and severity) were not linked to actual adaptation decisions, suggesting that widening adaptation analyses beyond individual perceptions as predictors of climate change adaptation may provide insights for fit-for-purpose climate change adaptation policies for the sector.

Climate change information seeking

AbstractThis research develops and tests a model of individual intentions to actively seek information about climate change. Our premise is that the individual's intention to actively seek information about climate change would determine their knowledge of and attitudes towards climate change, and this would in turn influence how they act or change their behaviors in response to that risk. Our model identifies key cognitive, affective, and situational variables drawn from research in human information behavior and risk communication. We conducted an online survey in which 212 participants in Canada and the United States responded. The results showed that the model was able to explain more than 40% of the variance in intention to seek climate change information. Social Norms, Affective Response, and Social Trust were the most important variables in influencing intention to seek climate change information. We conclude that climate change information seeking has a strong social dimension where social norms and expectations of relevant and respected others exert a major influence, and that the individual's emotional response towards the risk of climate change is more important than the individual's cognitive perception of how much information they need on climate change.

Climate Potential for Apple Growing in Norway—Part 1: Zoning of Areas with Heat Conditions Favorable for Apple Growing under Observed Climate Change

Agricultural production is already, and obviously, affected by climate change. Adapting to climate change includes reducing future risks to ensure yield quality and quantity and considers seizing any potential opportunities induced by climate change. In higher latitude areas, such as Norway, cold climate limits the cultivation of fruits. An increase in temperature offers more favorable conditions for fruit production. In this study, using available phenological observations (full blooming) and harvest dates, and meteorological data from the experimental orchard of NIBIO Ullensvang, the minimum heat requirements for growing different apple varieties are determined. Those criteria are used for zoning of the areas with heat favorable conditions for apple growing. Data on six varieties were used, with lower and higher requirements for heat for fruit development (Discovery, Gravenstein, Summerred, Aroma, Rubinstep, and Elstar). High resolution daily temperature data were generated and used for zoning of the areas with heat favorable conditions for apple growing within the selected domain, which includes Western Norway, Southern Norway, Eastern Norway, and the western part of Trøndelag, Mid-Norway. Dynamics of the change in such surfaces was assessed for the period of 1961–2020. The total surface with favorable heat conditions for growing the varieties with lesser requirement for heat increased three times during this period. The growing of more heat-demanding varieties increased from near zero to about 2.5% of the studied land surface. In the period of 2011–2020, surface area with favorable heat conditions for apple growing was almost 27,000 km2, and a surface area of about 4600 km2 can sustain growing of more heat-demanding varieties. The presented results show the increasing potential of the climate of Norway for apple cultivation and highlight the importance of implementation of fruit production planned according to climate change trends, including the assessment of potential risks from climate hazards. However, the methodology for determining heat requirements can be improved by using phenological ripening dates if available, rather than harvest dates which are impacted by human decision. Zoning of areas with the potential of sustainable apple growing requires the use of future climate change assessments and information on land-related features.

Interannual Variation in Earth’s Rotation Rate and Its Role as a Climate Change Indicator

Exploring the relationship between climate phenomena and anomalies in Earth’s rotation during a corresponding period is helpful for constraining the assessment of global change, even for the early warning of climate events. This study selected the latest length of day changes (ΔLOD) observations, and extracted the interannual terms solely related to climatic variations, employing a difference plus frequency domain stepwise regression (Difference+FDSR) method. Afterward, we calculated the correlations of different data compositions between surface fluid contributions (AAM, OAM and HAM) and the climate-related ΔLOD. Finally, the anomalies during the period of 1993–2023 were focused on, by comparing the high-precision fluid forcing and the climate-related ΔLOD with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices. Our results show that superimposing the HAM can improve fluid correlations ~5% with climate-related ΔLOD, but the OAM contribution is not obvious. Additionally, we detected a triple-dip La Niña in the last 3 years, and the corresponding minimum values of climate-related ΔLOD were between −0.11 and −0.23 ms. Furthermore, we investigated the short-term forecast of a climate event with ΔLOD predictions based on the climate change information on Earth‘s rotation rate, wherein a follow-up El Niño is indicated.

The spatial difference of multi-layer climate change information flow and network construction: A comparison of “dual carbon” scenarios

Climate change is a critical topic in environmental communication. Through effective information communication, efforts and contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions can gain more social support, boosting carbon neutrality. In this study, the spatial distribution of the multi-layer information flow of climate change, the construction of forwarding networks, and the distribution of opinion leaders were studied by a web crawler and social network analysis. The comparison of the two periods reveals that: (1) The information diffusion depth of climate change information reaches up to three layers. Blog posts in relation to climate change are more likely to be shared in economically developed regions. (2) There is little direct correlation between the nodes in the climate change forwarding network. The communication network's structural integrity is poor, and the network structure is loose. (3) Following the proposal of the goal of “dual carbon”, more groups emerge to participate in climate change discussions. The media, celebrities, and government users take the leading role in climate change communication. The research findings are extremely important in clarifying the spatial pattern of climate change communication among provinces and identifying opinion leaders.

Honey Production and Climate Change: Beekeepers’ Perceptions, Farm Adaptation Strategies, and Information Needs

Because climate change has severely impacted global bee populations by depleting their habitats and food sources, beekeepers must implement management practices to adapt to changing climates. However, beekeepers in El Salvador lack information about necessary climate change adaptation strategies. This study explored Salvadoran beekeepers’ experiences adapting to climate change. The researchers used a phenomenological case study approach and conducted semi-structured interviews with nine Salvadoran beekeepers who were members of The Cooperative Association for Marketing, Production, Savings, and Credit of Beekeepers of Chalatenango (ACCOPIDECHA). The beekeepers perceived water and food scarcity, as well as extreme weather events (e.g., increasing temperature, rain, winds), as the leading climate change-induced challenges to their production. Such challenges have augmented their honey bees’ physiological need for water, limited their movement patterns, decreased apiary safety, and increased the incidence of pests and diseases, all of which have led to honey bee mortality. The beekeepers shared adaptation strategies, including box modification, apiary relocation, and food supplementation. Although most beekeepers accessed climate change information using the internet, they struggled to understand and apply pertinent information unless they received it from trusted ACCOPIDECHA personnel. Salvadoran beekeepers require information and demonstrations to improve their climate change adaptation strategies and implement new ones to address the challenges they experience.

Climate Change Knowledge and Perception among Farming Households in Nigeria

Nigeria is committed to achieving a 20% unconditional and 45% conditional reduction of GHG emissions by 2030 through a strong focus on awareness of and preparedness for climate change impacts via the mobilization of local communities for climate change mitigation actions. As land cover changes and forestry contribute 38% and agriculture contributes 13% of the country’s GHGs, farmers are among the stakeholders to be aware of and prepare for climate change mitigations and adaptations. This study assessed the knowledge of agriculturally related practices associated with climate change and its relation to climate change perception. One thousand and eighty (1080) smallholder farmers were interviewed across six agroecological zones (AEZs) of Nigeria using a structured questionnaire. The results revealed that most farmers know that deforestation and land clearance by bush burning contributes to climate change. However, many farmers did not know that methane emissions from livestock (enteric fermentation) can cause climate change. Our results further show that the farmers’ perception of climate change is associated with climate change knowledge. Factors affecting the climate change knowledge of farmers include information received from government extension services, environmental NGOs, and radio, as well as experiencing extreme weather events. Farmers of dry AEZs were more aware and knowledgeable of the agricultural practices contributing to the changing environment. Increased exposure to climate change events thus appears to elevate the knowledge on the topic. Using government services, environmental NGOs, and radio to disseminate climate change information will help further in guiding and shaping farmers’ perceptions towards scientific findings for appropriate actions.

Editorial: Climate change information for Regional impact and risk assessment

Editorial: Climate change information for Regional impact and risk assessment

Promoting climate actions: A cognitive-constraints approach

The present paper reports an experiment with a two-year-delayed (M = 695 days) follow-up that tests an approach to raising willingness to take political and personal climate actions. Many Americans still do not view climate change as a threat requiring urgent action. Moreover, among American conservatives, higher science literacy is paradoxically associated with higher anthropogenic climate-change skepticism. Our experimental materials were designed to harness the power of two central cognitive constraints — coherence and causal invariance, which map onto two narrative proclivities that anthropologists have identified as universal — to promote climate action across the political spectrum. Towards that goal, the essential role of these constraints in the causal-belief-formation process predicts that climate-change information would be more persuasive when it is embedded in a personal climate-action narrative, the evocation of which can benefit from exposure to parsimonious scientific explanations of indisputable everyday observations, juxtaposed with reasoners’ own, typically less coherent explanations, occurring in a context that engages their moral stance. Our brief one-time intervention, conducted in ten U.S. states with the highest level of climate skepticism, showed that across the political spectrum, our materials raised appreciation of science, openness to alternative views, and willingness to take climate actions in the immediate assessment. It also raised how likely were reports two years later of having taken those actions or would have taken them had the opportunity existed, suggesting a long-lasting effect. Our approach adopts the framework that conceptions of reality are representations, and adaptive solutions in that infinite space of representations require cognitive constraints to narrow the search.

Climate change threatens beach tourism

Climate change threatens beach tourism Beaches evoke an emotion known to improve physical and mental well-being and have become a primary destination for leisure, relaxation and recreation, notes Researcher David Cabana from the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS). However, he highlights, coastal and beach tourism goes beyond mere sunbathing and relaxation – it is quickly becoming an increasing concern for extreme climate change and erosion through rising seawater levels. Looking at the climate change threats to beaches and tourism-related activities, the Climate Services Center Germany (GERICS) in cooperation with the Blue Flag programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education aims to co-develop climate services and indicators to enable the application of climate change information into beach management and decision-making. The goal of the GERICS - Blue Flag programme collaboration is to enable the incorporation of usable and useful climate change information into municipal coastal decision-making such as in the Blue Flag assessment criteria to ensure that operators are prepared to adapt to climatic changes. This will also support the Blue Flag programme continues to recognize and award beaches and marinas that are not only environmentally sound but also resilient in the face of climate change.

An appraisal on the determinants of adaptation responses to the impacts of climate variability on coffee Production: Implication to household food security in Nensebo Woreda, Ethiopia

Climate change and variability already had and will continue to harm coffee production throughout the world. Between 80% and 90% of the world’s coffee is produced by smallholder farmers who depend on nature. This study examines the determinants of climate variability adaptation response in coffee production and its implication for household food security in Nensebo Woreda, Ethiopia. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from randomly selected 181 coffee grower farmers as well as purposively selected key informants, and focus group discussion participants. Arial gridded dikadal meteorological data were also used. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis, descriptive statistics, and econometric analysis methods. The study reveals that in the study area monthly, seasonal, and annual minimum and maximum temperature has been increasing over the last three decades. Rainfall has been erratic both in amount and timing. Multinomial logit analysis showed that age, farm experience, farm size, family size, average days spent on non-farm and off-farm activities, DA contact, climate change information, and income from coffee were the factors that significantly influenced adaptation responses to climate variability. The study also revealed the presence of a varying degrees of household food insecurity. Therefore, to enhance the adaptive capacity of coffee grower farmers, it is necessary to provide area specific and precise weather forecast information. Likewise, the study shows that building the adaptive capacity of coffee grower farmers requires expanding access to credit and savings services as well as market information. Doing all of these requires extensive and continuous awareness creation intervention about the actual and potential effects of climate variability on coffee production.

Assessing uncertainty in hydrological projections arising from local-scale internal variability of climate

Hydrological impact assessments are increasingly performed at fine spatial and temporal resolutions in order to resolve local-scale changes under a future climate. Apart from the uncertainty represented by different climate models, emission scenarios and post-processing methods, the local-scale internal variability of the climate can be a major source of uncertainty for hydrological projections. To assess the latter at the catchment scale, this paper presents a methodology which is particularly suitable for spatially distributed hydrological models. An ensemble of daily precipitation and daily mean temperature realizations on a high-resolution grid is simulated from stochastic weather generators (WGs) trained on historical data and equipped with climate change information obtained from a regional climate model. Based on the resulting simulated daily runoff data, the significance of changes in the runoff regime is assessed using a statistical hypothesis test, and the variability contributed by the two input variables is quantified using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). As a proof of concept, simulations on a 1-km grid over a period of 19 years are carried out for nine catchments in central Norway. Significant changes in runoff regimes are found, indicating that the trends introduced in the WGs are not overwhelmed by the local-scale internal variability. Variability in the runoff simulations varies substantially throughout the year; it is highest in periods with potential snowmelt and lowest during winter. Temperature is the dominant source of variability in the colder months (November–March) due to its influence on rainfall and snowmelt. High variability in May–June is contributed comparably by both temperature and precipitation. In summer and early autumn the runoff variability is precipitation dominated. The results are in line with findings in the literature where the runoff variability is driven by the large-scale internal climate variability. This indicates that ignoring the local-scale internal variability may yield an underestimation of the overall variability in runoff projections and projected changes.

Effectiveness of Climate Change Awareness among Youths in Luanshya District, Zambia

This study evaluated the effectiveness of climate change awareness among youths in Luanshya District so as to prepare them for future climate change governance. The aim of the study was to explore levels of climate change awareness among youths in Luanshya District. The study used a mixed methods approach. Descriptive design was adopted to analyze responses of (n = 160) randomly selected respondents who were drawn from four purposively selected townships within Luanshya District. The chi-square was used for analysis of quantitative data. Structured questionnaires were employed for data collection under the descriptive design, which helped in measuring the hypothesis and generalize the findings. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The results indicate that most youths in Luanshya District found the modes of climate change awareness available in their area to be ineffective in reaching them and in content provision. About 88 percent of youths in Mpatamatu, 95 percent in Roan, 40 percent in Mikomfwa and 93 percent in Fisenge felt that the climate change information offered to them by stakeholders was insufficient. These modes which included school, radio, television, newspaper, magazines, internet and megaphone generally did not present enough accessible climate change content to prepare the youths for climate change governance. While most youths felt that school, radio, television and the internet were more effective means for them to receive climate change awareness, these methods had shortcoming that reduced the youths’ access to climate change information. The limited number of youths having access to the various modes of climate change awareness meant even the peer-to-peer method of awareness was limited as few youth peers had access to climate information for them to share. It was therefore concluded that the involvement of different stakeholders in the sensitization of climate change should be reinforced by strengthening awareness at all levels. This should include increased climate content for mass media dissemination of information. Information packaging should also be targeted to ensure the right audiences are reached, which may call for packaging climate information that appeals to the young in order to enhance levels of awareness. Strengthening the modes of communicating climate information would strongly enhance the preparedness of Luanshya youths for climate change governance.

LMTdb: A comprehensive transcriptome database for climate-resilient, nutritionally rich little millet (Panicum sumatrense).

Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) a native of Chhattisgarh, belongs to the minor millet group and is primarily known as a climate-resilient and nutritionally rich crop. However, due to the lack of enough Omic studies on the crop, the scientific community has largely remained unaware of the potential of this crop, resulting in less scope for its utilization in crop improvement programs. Looking at global warming, erratic climate change, nutritional security, and limited genetic information available, the Little Millet Transcriptome Database (LMTdb) (https://igkv.ac.in/xenom/index.aspx) was conceptualized upon completion of the transcriptome sequencing of little millet with the aim of deciphering the genetic signatures of this largely unknown crop. The database was developed with the view of providing information about the most comprehensive part of the genome, the 'Transcriptome'. The database includes transcriptome sequence information, functional annotation, microsatellite markers, DEGs, and pathway information. The database is a freely available resource that provides breeders and scientists a portal to search, browse, and query data to facilitate functional and applied Omic studies in millet crops.

Communicating Climate Change: The Impact of Animated Data Visualizations on Perceptions of Journalistic Motive and Media Bias

ABSTRACT Focusing on maps, a common technique for conveying climate change information, this study uses an experiment (N = 423) to test how the type (static vs. animated) and repeated exposure (one vs. two) of visualizations impact biased perceptions. Presented with a pro-climate change regulations news article, participants who read the version with animated visualizations perceived the story to be more biased than those who were presented with static images. Further, a perceived advocacy motive mediated the triggering of an animated visualization to arouse more biased perceptions in favor of climate regulations. The implications for democratic ideals are discussed.

Knowledge of resilience strategies in livestock management during dry periods in southwestern Nigeria

Recurring elongated dry seasons in South west Nigeria pose a significant threat to livestock production. Knowledge of adaptation strategies to build resilience and lowers vulnerabilities to climate change among livestock farmers is limited. This study assessed livestock farmers’ knowledge of resilience strategies in farm management during dry seasons in southwest Nigeria. Using a purposive sampling procedure, a total of 118 farmers were interviewed on knowledge of livestock management during dry periods, specific challenges to management, and opinions on efficient livestock management. The result shows that increased feed costs challenged farmers during the dry season while insufficient funds were identified as the most severe constraint. Knowledge of management was high among 42% of farmers and 89.5% of them disagreed on the mechanism for temperature control structure in livestock building. Knowledge of good management practices was influenced by farmers’ ability to read and write in Yoruba language (χ2= 9.179; p < 0.05) and constraints faced (r = 0.21; p < 0.05). Climate change information in local languages will improve livestock farmers’ resilience to challenges induced by unpredictable climate change.

Determinants of climate change adaptation strategies in South India: Empirical evidence

The phenomena of climate change pose multifaceted challenges to crop and livestock farming, with severe implications on smallholder farmers' income and livelihoods. Climate change has profound implications (economic, environmental, and social) predominantly on rainfed regions in developing countries like India, where agriculture constitutes the backbone of the economy. In this context, the current study analyzes how farmers perceive climate change in the rainfed ecosystem in India, farmers' adaptation strategies, and their major determinants in addressing climate change. Data were collected from 400 sample farmers in South India. Discriminant and multinomial logit models were employed to identify the adaptation strategies of the farmers. It was evident that the factors such as off-farm income, farm income, and farming experience significantly influenced the adaptation strategies for tackling climate change. Furthermore, access to climate change information and literacy level are vital determinants in different climate change adaptation strategies, including crop diversification, integrated farming system, contingency plans for farm operations, and adoption of soil and water conservation techniques. However, the study highlights the increasing role of institutions (government and private) in future to safeguard the interests of farmers by offering a wide range of policy, research, and technology interventions. In a nutshell, R&D focus on climate-resilient agriculture, application of ICTs in agro-advisory services, and creation off-farm employment opportunities for the farmers is crucial to sustaining their livelihoods as these serve as potential mitigation strategies to impart resilience to climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture in rainfed ecosystems in India or any other countries.

Promoting involvement of early-career scientists from the Asia-Pacific region in regional integrated and sustainable development through active participation and networking

Climate change is affecting global ecosystems, natural resources, and human well-being. The near- and long-term future sustainable development of society requires robust climate change information at regional scales. To contribute to the purpose mentioned above, WCRP CORDEX (the World Climate Research Programme’s Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment) initialised a collaboration with the APN (Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research), as the two programmes share common goals in advocating climate science as well as transferring climate knowledge for effective management. This APN project, entitled “Promoting Involvement of Early Career Scientists from the Asia-Pacific Region in Regional Integrated and Sustainable Development through Active Participation and Networking”, was a result of this collaboration. Specifically, the project was aimed at supporting early-career scientists from the Asia-Pacific region to attend an international science conference on regional climate science (ICRC-CORDEX 2019) and facilitate them in international partnership-building. It also contributed to enhancing communication and cooperation amongst regional climate research teams within and beyond the Asia-Pacific region. As one of the most important activities of the conference, the project supported an event for early-career scientists. The completion of the project consolidated global collaboration between the climate research community and that of adaptation-impact studies, as well as facilitated interaction with end-users. It was also a successful showcase of the scientific strategies of APN and CORDEX.

New Media and Climate Change Communication: An Assessment of Utilization of New Media Platfroms in Publication of Glocalized Climate Change Information by East Africa’s Science Journalists

New Media and Climate Change Communication: An Assessment of Utilization of New Media Platfroms in Publication of Glocalized Climate Change Information by East Africa’s Science Journalists