Climate Change-related Risks Research Articles

Regional R&I ventures to tackle climate change: A new geography of challenge-oriented innovation landscape

This paper analyses how EU regions have aligned their innovation and policy endeavours to tackle exposure to the effects of Climate Change at regional level. Scholars hailed the need to orienting efforts and resources to tackle societal challenges. However, we have little empirical evidence on the alignment of R&I ecosystems and policy endeavours towards tackling Climate Change. Using regression analysis, we assess the relationship between such directionality and the exposure to risk of disasters (i.e., coastal floods, river floods, and landslides) that each region faces in the short, medium, and long term due to Climate Change. Results show a positive relationship between risk projection and climate change preparedness. However, a more in-depth analysis demonstrates the complexity of such geographical "problem-solution convergence": investigating whether the EU regions most at risk of being affected by climate change are also the ones most ready to target climate change through an aligned combination of R&I and policy efforts. Findings show that more developed regions appear more ready to tackle climate change effects compared to transition and less developed regions. These findings suggest that more support is needed for less developed regions facing major Climate Change-related risks.

Exploring the nexus of industry dynamism, climate risk exposure and mental health and well-being of owners of small and micro-sized suppliers: implications for sustainable supply chain management

PurposeAlthough climate change-related risks affect all stakeholders along the supply chain, the potential impact on small and micro-sized suppliers is incredibly excessive. The corresponding toll of these climate risk threats on the mental health and well-being of owners of small and micro-sized suppliers can adversely affect their participation in sustainability efforts, ultimately impacting the firm's performance. This often-overlooked dynamic forms the core of our research. We probe into two pivotal aspects: how industry dynamism and climate risk affect the mental health and well-being of owners of small and micro-sized suppliers and how, in turn, dictate involvement and, consequently, supply chain sustainability performance. This is further nuanced by the moderating role of the abusive behavior of buyers.Design/methodology/approachOur study is built on resource dependency theory and the supporting empirical evidence is fortified by a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design. This study comprises three phases. In the first phase, our experiment examines the effect of industry dynamism and climate risk exposure on sustainable supply chain management performance. Hypotheses H1a and H1b are tested in the first phase. The second phase involves using a survey and structural equation modeling to test the comprehensiveness of the model. Here, the relationship between industry dynamism, climate risk exposure, mental health and well-being of owners of small and micro-sized supplier firms, supplier involvement and sustainable supply chain management (H2–H7) is tested in the second phase. In the third phase, we adopt a qualitative approach to verify and provide descriptive explanations of phase two findings.FindingsOur findings underscore the significance of small and micro-sized suppliers in sustainability, offering invaluable insights for both theoretical understanding and practical implementation. Our study highlights that buyers must allocate sufficient resources to support small and micro-sized supplier firms and collaborate closely to address climate change and its impacts.Practical implicationsThe key takeaway from this study is that buyer firms should consider SDG 3, which focuses on the good health and well-being of their employees and the mental health and well-being of owners of small and micro-sized suppliers in their upstream supply chain. This approach enhances sustainability performance in supply chains.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies that shows that industry dynamism and climate risk exposure can negatively impact small and micro-sized suppliers in the presence of a contextual element, i.e. abusive behavior of buyers, and ultimately, it negatively impacts sustainable supply chain performance dimensions.

Oil Palm Production in the 20th Century and Beyond: The Impact of Climate Change in Malaysia

The widespread concern about the devastating impact of climate change, especially in the agricultural sector, has become severe. This paper aims to explore and predict the impact of climate change on oil palm production using future climate conditions projected by the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM). An error correction model (ECM) and autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) cointegration approach were applied to assess the short-run and long-run impact of climate change on oil palm production. The estimated short-run coefficients disclosed that the oil palm own price and fertilizer use positively affected oil palm production in the second lag period, and increased acreage benefited oil palm production in the long run. The rainfall variable negatively affected the second lag period but positively rose oil palm production in the long run. The results of forecasting analysis revealed that SN1 (minimum climate variability), SN2 (maximum climate variability), and SN3 (average climate variability) would increase oil palm production by 5%, 1%, and 2%, respectively. Meanwhile, the oil palm yield would rise from 16.73 t/ha in 2020 to 16.89 t/ha in 2030 under SN1. However, with maximum rainfall, the yield would drop to 16.41 t/ha in 2030. Overall, climate change would likely reduce oil palm yield. This research could serve as empirical guides for policymakers and oil palm stakeholders in terms of practical and policy implications to adapt to climate change-related risks and uncertainties. The practical cover investments in technologies, such as developing drought-tolerant and early-maturity crop varieties, boosting water saving, and reducing evapotranspiration.

Bibliometric analysis and literature review on maritime transport resilience and its associated impacts on trade

ABSTRACT This paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis and literature review on maritime transport resilience and its impact on international trade. It categorizes and benchmarks risks affecting maritime transport resilience, including climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and public health events. Previous research focuses on climate change-related risks, primarily sea-level rise and storms, evolving from qualitative to quantitative methods. Research on public health events, especially pandemics, has emerged, highlighting global supply chain resilience and maritime transport. However, more comprehensive economic evaluations utilizing analytical models and simulations are needed to assess costs and benefits of adaptation strategies. Limited research exists on geopolitical risks and their impact on maritime transport resilience and international trade, with fragmented studies lacking attention in this critical research direction. Recent conflicts like the Sino-US trade conflict, Russia-Ukraine war, and Israeli-Palestinian conflict have profoundly affected maritime transport resilience, international trade, and the global economy. Future studies should prioritize economic implications of maritime transport resilience, particularly regarding geopolitical risks. In-depth economic evaluations, analytical modeling, and numerical simulations are necessary to inform policymakers and industry practitioners for enhancing resilience in the maritime shipping sector. The study offers valuable insights, guiding further investigations and contributing to the development of a robust global supply chain.

Building resilience to multiple climate change-related risks in QwaQwa using the community capitals approach

ABSTRACT QwaQwa, in South Africa, experiences high exposure to multiple climate change impacts. The area is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. As such, this paper aims to assess community resilience, estimate the risk of multiple climate change impacts in QwaQwa, and propose strategies to reduce risk and build resilience. Data were collected using a household survey and key informant interviews with a sample of 349 participants. An indicator method, based on the Community Capitals Framework, was used to measure resilience and estimate risk. The composite resilience indicators were weighted using Principal Component Analysis. The Cronbach's alpha (α) test indicated a very good internal consistency in the scaled items. The results indicated that medium resilience to climate change impacts in QwaQwa was mostly driven by access to all six capitals measured in this study: natural, human, social, financial, political, and infrastructural capitals. The multi-hazard risk estimate resulted in a very high index of 4.1. These results were validated at a stakeholder workshop. Strategies that use nature-based solutions, training and education for people of all ages, sectors and professions, and increased community and local government cooperation were deemed essential for boosting resilience and reducing disaster risks in the area.

Cultural adaptation in the era of climate change: An ethnographic study on the resilience of indigenous people at Chittagong Hill Tracts area in Bangladesh

Climate change has gained global recognition as one of the most urgent challenges in recent decades. Many indigenous people attempt to overcome great challenges in their lives by adhering to their cultural customs and traditional knowledge. This is especially true for those who live in isolated, hilly places and are dependent on natural resources. The aim of the paper is to critically investigate the cultural facets of indigenous people's adaptation to and resilience to climate change in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), namely in the Rangamati Sadar sub-districts of the Rangamati districts, in Bangladesh. This paper also examines how cultural components in indigenous community are changing and influencing the adaptation process in adverse situations. This study used a critical ethnography technique in conjunction with participant observation, in-depth interviews (N ​= ​55), and focus group discussions (N ​= ​5, 45 participants) during a one-year period (October 2019 to October 2020). According to the study's findings, climate change-related risks have significant adverse effects on indigenous people. However, they develop their strategies to adjust to the adverse environment, like building different kinds of houses, changing cultural customs, relying less on natural resources, and adhering to their indigenous knowledge. They also strengthen their prayers and ceremonial practices, which reinforce their communal ties and allow them to become more resilient against challenges in their community. The popular belief that Indigenous people are stupid, poor, and helpless while they wait for outside help is challenged by this study. It also refutes the discourse that indigenous strategies and knowledge are not undervalued and can be an effective instrument for the adaptation process and combating hazards.

Climate Change Effects and Stock Market Returns

To capture climate change risk at the business level, use records of performance briefings from different enterprises. This examination discovers that chances of worst climate change, the negative impact of business environment risk on market stock returns. Study also conducts a broad assessment of the empirical and theoretical literature on the influence of climate change related risks on financial market. The main aim of this analysis is to enhance our knowledge of the estimation significances of climate change risk in financial markets. It is initiated by discussing the theoretical connections between market asset pricing and climate change related risks, and then propose a hypothesis of how climate change risk drivers convey costs to enterprises and cause stock returns variations. It studies the historical climate change related events, which indicate that both climate physical effects and transition dynamics can cause a stock return volatility. Finally, the results imply that disclosures of climate change related information can support the stock market in more efficiently as pricing climate risk.

Incorporating indigenous knowledge systems-based climate services in anticipatory action in Zimbabwe: an ex-ante assessment

IntroductionThe success of anticipatory action (AA) in climate change related disaster risk reduction depends largely on the ability to accurately predict adverse weather events and to subsequently take appropriate and timely action. The current seasonal climate forecasts obtained through national and global forecasting centers such as the Zimbabwe Meteorological Services Department (MSD) and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) have been found to have several limitations including limited skill in intra-seasonal variability which is vital in most processes, lack of accessibility, difficult interpretability and applicability to local communities. As a result, calls for the integration of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)-based climate services in seasonal climate forecasting to bolster the efficacy and accuracy of forecasts are increasing.MethodologyThe study employed a mixed methods approach combining a survey of 200 household heads, document reviews and key informant interviews with IKS specialists, AA community of practice members and disaster risk reduction specialists.ResultsThis article presents the findings of a study carried out in four semi-arid districts of Zimbabwe (Mbire, Matobo, Binga, and Mudzi) to assess the feasibility of integrating IKS into the drought AA mechanism at national, district, and ward level. We find that 82% of the surveyed households used indigenous knowledge systems for seasonal climate forecasting and extreme weather forecasting combined with scientific forecasts. Respondents demonstrated preference for triangulated forecasting to increase reliability. Both the meteorological approaches to seasonal climate forecasting and the IKS based forecasting had different strengths and weaknesses.DiscussionBased on the found gaps in current seasonal forecasting techniques, local applicability, and limited quantitative analysis in IKS, this study provides a guideline on how scientific and IKS forecasting can be triangulated for leveraging forecasting information in Zimbabwe. The use of IKS may be of utmost relevance to agencies and entities seeking the achievement of drought risk reduction through AA programmes.

The climatological renewable energy deviation index (credi)

We propose an index to quantify and analyse the impact of climatological variability on the energy system at different timescales. We define the climatological renewable energy deviation index (credi) as the cumulative anomaly of a renewable resource with respect to its climate over a specific time period of interest. For this we introduce the smooth, yet physical, hourly rolling window climatology that captures the expected hourly to yearly behaviour of renewable resources. We analyse the presented index at decadal, annual and (sub-)seasonal timescales for a sample region and discuss scientific and practical implications. credi is meant as an analytical tool for researchers and stakeholders to help them quantify, understand, and explain, the impact of energy-meteorological variability on future energy system. Improved understanding translates to better assessments of how renewable resources, and the associated risks for energy security, may fare in current and future climatological settings. The practical use of the index is in resource planning. For example transmission system operators may be able to adjust short-term planning to reduce adequacy issues before they occur or combine the index with storyline event selection for improved assessments of climate change related risks.

Risk classification of low-lying coral reef islands and their exposure to climate threats

The bio-physical responses of low-lying coral islands to climate change are of concern. These islands exist across a broad range of bio-physical conditions, and vulnerabilities to rising and warming seas, ocean acidification and increased storminess. We propose a risk-based classification that scores 6 island eco-morphometric attributes and 6 bio-physical ocean/climate conditions from recent open-access data, to assign islands with respect to 5 risk classes (Very Low, Low, Moderate, High and Very High). The potential responses of 56 coral islands in Australia's jurisdiction (Coral Sea, NW Shelf and NE Indian Ocean) to climate change is considered with respect to their bio-physical attributes and eco-morphometrics. None of the islands were classed as Very Low risk, while 8 were classed as Low (14.3 %), 34 were Moderate (60.7 %), 11 were High (19.6 %), and 3 were Very High (5.4 %). Islands in the Very High risk class (located on the NW Shelf) are most vulnerable due to their small size (mean 10 Ha), low elevation (mean 2.6 m MSL), angular/elongated shape, unvegetated state, below average pH (mean 8.05), above average rates of sea-level rise (SLR; mean 4.6 mm/yr), isolation from other islands, and frequent tropical storms and marine heatwaves. In contrast, islands in the Low (and Very Low) risk class are less vulnerable due to their large size (mean 127 Ha), high elevation (mean 8.5 m MSL), sub-angular/round shape, vegetated state, near average pH (mean 8.06), near average SLR rates (mean 3.9 mm/yr), proximity to adjacent islands, and infrequent cyclones and marine heatwaves. Our method provides a risk matrix to assess coral island vulnerability to current climate change related risks and supports future research on the impacts of projected climate change scenarios. Findings have implications for communities living on coral islands, associated ecosystem services and coastal States that base their legal maritime zones on these islands.

Understanding the Magnification of Heatwaves over Spain: Relevant changes in the most extreme events

Heatwaves (HW) are a growing climate change-related risk affecting people's lives every year. A consensus exists about the magnification of this phenomena under climate change; however, less is known about their regional-to-local evolution characteristics' undermining appropriate policy and preparedness actions.This study investigates, from 1951 to 2019, regional changes in the occurrence and characteristics of HWs over peninsular Spain and the Balearic Islands (PSBI), highly exposed to climate change. State-of-the-art high-resolution observations provided by the SPAIN02 gridded data set are used for this purpose. Our results show an indisputable magnification of the HW phenomena but with relevant regional differences in the evolution of their characteristics. HWs occur two times more frequently inland, while most intense events take place in coastal areas. More extreme HWs in terms of frequency, maximum intensity, duration, and spatial extent are identified, rather than a progressive intensification in time affecting all HWs population. In the last decades, high frequencies are 8 times more likely, unprecedented high intensities are registered, the yearly maximum spatial extent is larger than ever and the probability to have a long-duration event has doubled. All of this is in the context of a longer HW season, increasing at a rate of about 4 days/decade, particularly in its onset. About 75% of the most severe and impactful HWs occurred after 1985. The most severe HWs, generally, are found not to be the most harmful to human health. This study highlights the importance of detailed knowledge of the spatiotemporal characteristics of HWs to accurately inform local practice for the effective design and implementation of adaptation plans.

Determinants and framework for implementing sustainable climate-smart aquaculture insurance system for fish farmers: Evidence from Ghana

The just-ended Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Change Conference in November 2022 brought to light the need to mitigate climate change adaptation related to risk and challenges through Climate financing, has made it very paramount the need to protect fish farmers' investments from climate change-related risk through the development of climate-smart insurance products and covers to help mitigate climate change effects on aquaculturists. As a result, this paper examines aquaculture farmers' preference for climate-smart aquaculture insurance products, challenges of climate-smart aquaculture insurance, and their preferred insurance cover. Survey data was collected from 140 fish farmers and analysed via Multinomial logistic regression, Bivariate Probit regression and Kendall's coefficient of concordance. Climate-Induced Aquaculture Stock Mortality Insurance (CIASMI) was the most-preferred climate-smart insurance product. Insurance Cover for Diseases (ICD) was the least preferred. The results further indicated that membership in a farmer organisation, farm income, credit access, climate-related peril and anthropogenic-related peril had a positive influence, whereas years of education had a negative influence on climate-smart aquaculture insurance participation.Moreover, production system had a negative relationship with mode of participation while number of employees, farm income and climate-related peril influenced mode of participation positively. The results also revealed that age, sex, stock size, awareness, income, climate and environmental-related peril, and anthropogenic-related peril significantly influenced the choice for climate-smart aquaculture insurance products, specifically climate risk related to stock mortality insurance and climate-related to consequential loss insurance. Finally, delay in claim settlement was the most pressing constraint. In contrast, lack of experts in disease diagnosis was the least ranked constraint of climate-smart aquaculture insurance. Therefore, this study provides insights for the Fisheries Commission, Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP), World Cover and other agricultural insurance companies globally to draft climate-smart insurance products for aquaculturists.

Anthropogenic land-use legacies underpin climate change-related risks to forest ecosystems.

Forest ecosystems with long-lasting human imprints can emerge worldwide as outcomes of land-use cessation. However, the interaction of these anthropogenic legacies with climate change impacts on forests is not well understood. Here, we set out how anthropogenic land-use legacies that persist in forest properties, following alterations in forest distribution, structure, and composition, can interact with climate change stressors. We propose a risk-based framework to identify anthropogenic legacies of land uses in forest ecosystems and quantify the impact of their interaction with climate-related stress on forest responses. Considering anthropogenic land-use legacies alongside environmental drivers of forest ecosystem dynamics will improve our predictive capacity of climate-related risks to forests and our ability to promote ecosystem resilience to climate change.

On the benefits of insurance and disaster risk management integration for improved climate-related natural catastrophe resilience

Insurance serves modern society and commerce by pooling risk to reduce the economic impact of disasters. Concurrently, Disaster Risk Management (DRM) scientists, responders and policymakers are co-developing proactive resilience and mitigation strategies with European citizens against accelerating climate-related natural catastrophes. The increasing frequency and severity of natural catastrophes exacerbates the insurance coverage gap by incurring even greater losses for (re)insurers, leading to higher premiums in exchange for cover or the withdrawal of services entirely. This paper presents a conceptual framework for cross-sectoral collaboration between the insurance and DRM communities towards open, transparent and optimised disaster risk management for all EU citizens and businesses. Furthermore, this research identifies key enabling technologies (satellite, drone, artificial intelligence, blockchain) and novel risk transfer mechanisms with the potential to accelerate societal resilience to climate disasters through effective risk management. The study emphasises the critical role of the insurance industry in effective DRM and highlights where insurers could take a more active role across the temporal plane of a natural disaster by engaging in ex-ante interventions to protect those vulnerable to climate change-related risk.

The green divide: A spatial analysis of segregation-based environmental inequality in Vienna

Cities, as the human habitat of the 21st century, will increasingly face climate change-related risks. Extreme weather events, hot spells, and rising air pollution already have widespread impacts on people, affecting their health and well-being. Urban vegetation is a proposed nature-based solution to address these challenges. However, the equitable distribution of urban vegetation is not always ensured. The study applies two innovative segregation-based inequality indices, recently developed by Schaeffer and Tivadar (2019), which reference to the residential segregation literature as a source of insight for the measurement of environmental inequalities within urban areas. Using high-resolution satellite data and demographic data on a 250 m2 grid level, this study is able to deliver robust evidence on the existence of environmental inequalities with respect to ethnic minorities and urban vegetation. It is observed that minorities consistently experience higher levels of segregation from urban vegetation compared to non-minorities, even when accounting for interactions with wider neighbourhoods. Additionally, the application of a Jackknife simulation provides insights for local policy interventions, mapping hotspots of urban inequalities and provides a solid starting point to tackle these issues on the ground.

Approaches for quantifying the financial impacts of reputational damage from climate change

Climate change is an existential threat to humanity. As such it has the potential to create uniquely severe reputational damage for financial institutions by significantly altering both their stakeholders' expectations and their perceptions of firms. Changes in the behaviours of the current (or future) providers of capital, funding and revenues to financial institutions would have the most direct and significant influences on the financial performance of firms. These impacts can be systematically assessed, through scenario analysis, by evaluating the effects in terms of the scale, financial sensitivity and duration of stakeholder responses. For prominent reputational risk events, the consequences may be simultaneously felt across five different financial impacts, although the responses of different stakeholders may vary. As there is uncertainty as to how stakeholders may respond, and a scarcity of climate change data, then non-climate change related reputational risk case studies are used in this paper to illustrate the scale and duration, where known, of the financial impacts. As with all forms of scenario analysis, the value obtained from these activities for climate change related reputational risks may ultimately arise as much from the greater understanding gained through the process, rather than the precision of the predictions. This paper sets out more systematic approaches for evaluating this reputational risk by detailing: the nature of reputational risk, including sources of negative stakeholder perceptions, and the differing abilities of stakeholders to act upon their negative perceptions by changing their behaviours; the nature of the risks posed by climate change, and how they may lead to reputational damage for financial institutions; and how these changed stakeholder behaviours/reputational damage may translate into five different categories of financial impacts, and how each may be assessed.

Do Farmers Demand Innovative Financial Products? A Case Study in Cambodia

This study examines Cambodian farmers’ demand for weather index insurance (WII), an innovative financial product, for managing climate change-related risks. Rice and cassava farmers in Battambang Province of Cambodia were interviewed to understand their preferences for WII. We applied a binary logistic model to quantify the factors that influence farmers’ WII demand. We discovered that farmers’ marital status and off-farm labor are crucial factors that impact the demand for WII. More importantly, we also investigated gender differences, considering the critical role of women in the agricultural sector and personality differences between men and women. Our findings indicated that for male respondents, being married and having an additional off-farm laborer increase the probability of demand for WII by 72.6% and 36.8%, respectively. For female respondents, the education level is the most significant factor in making purchase decisions. An additional year of education increases the probability of WII demand by 5.0%. Generally, our results are consistent with some prior studies but inconsistent with others. This suggests that further research is necessary to understand the barriers associated with WII schemes and how to overcome them. Regardless, our study provides valuable insights for various stakeholders in implementing WII schemes, including financial professionals, insurance companies, communities, and governments, for designing more flexible WII products, improving farmers’ financial literacy, and providing effective post-event support to enhance farmers’ resilience to climate change.

Extreme temperature and storm exacerbations of pediatric asthma: evidence and prevention strategies

Abstract Introduction:
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children and a main cause of hospitalizations, with substantial costs to patients, families, and society. Existing disparities in asthma will likely be impacted by the increasing adverse consequences of climate change and the disproportionate impact on low-income and minority communities. Increased extreme temperatures, weather events, air pollution, and allergens linked to climate change exacerbate pediatric asthma. There is a need for greater understanding of the climate change-related risk factors specifically impacting pediatric asthma exacerbations, increased attention to health disparities, and development of strategies for prevention and management. This perspective piece describes selected research on temperature and storm-related asthma exacerbations in children and includes a discussion on possible mechanisms for weather phenomena and climate change associations, research gaps, and possible solutions related to secondary prevention.

A causal link between mental imagery and affect-laden perception of climate change related risks

Previous studies have shed light on the importance of affect in risk perception and the role of mental imagery in generating affect. In the current study, we explore the causal relationship between mental imagery, affect, and risk perception by systematically varying the level of mental imagery in three levels (i.e., enhanced, spontaneous, or prevented). In light of the increasing environmental risk of adverse events caused by climate change, we operationalize risk as participants' perceived risk of climate change. One-thousand-fifty-five participants were recruited online and randomized to one of three levels of mental imagery. As predicted, we found a causal link between the level of mental imagery, affective experience, and perceived risk of climate change, in that enhanced mental imagery caused a larger decrease in positive affective valence and a larger increase in perceived risk of climate change. We argue that mental imagery enhances the negative affect associated with the risk event by creating a perceptual experience that mimics seeing the environmental risk events.

Analysis of Two Decades Variations in Urban Heat Island Using Remotely Sensed Data in Nguru Local Government Area, Yobe State, Nigeria

The effects of urban heat islands (UHI) have received a lot of attention because they have a huge impact on human health and environmental resource sustainability. A key moment in the history of mankind has been urbanization, and there is no doubt that the world is rapidly urbanizing, which is causing temperature changes. The relationship between climate change and rapid urbanization in Nguru Local Government Area, Yobe State, Nigeria, is investigated in this paper. The study used remote sensing data to reveal the extent of urban microclimate change trends over the next two decades (2001–2021). Thus, the microclimate temperature increased by nearly +5.32 °C in 2021 (39.39°C) compared to 34.07°C in 2001. Furthermore, the minimum temperature in 2001 was 22.33 °C, while that of 2021 was 23.36 ℃. The built-up area increased by 556.73%, from 446 hectares in 2001 to 2,483 hectares in 2021. Accelerated urbanization and the city's blue and green facilities, which are not preserved or safeguarded due to a poor planning system, are to blame for these modifications to the urban climate and design. The study aimed to determine the relationship between urbanization and urban heat islands in Nguru local government area, Yobe State, Nigeria. The picture of the situation in Nguru sheds light on the enormous challenges that cities in developing countries encounter in dealing with local and global climate change-related risks. Indeed, this situation necessitates an integrated strategy to address climate change both within and outside of cities. Policymakers must increase spending on urban planning, fund, adaptation of approaches through urban planning, and strengthen urban planning institutions.