Abstract

Across the last ~50,000 years (the late Quaternary) terrestrial vertebrate faunas have experienced severe losses of large species (megafauna), with most extinctions occurring in the Late Pleistocene and Early to Middle Holocene. Debate on the causes has been ongoing for over 200 years, intensifying from the 1960s onward. Here, we outline criteria that any causal hypothesis needs to account for. Importantly, this extinction event is unique relative to other Cenozoic (the last 66 million years) extinctions in its strong size bias. For example, only 11 out of 57 species of megaherbivores (body mass ≥1,000 kg) survived to the present. In addition to mammalian megafauna, certain other groups also experienced substantial extinctions, mainly large non-mammalian vertebrates and smaller but megafauna-associated taxa. Further, extinction severity and dates varied among continents, but severely affected all biomes, from the Arctic to the tropics. We synthesise the evidence for and against climatic or modern human (Homo sapiens) causation, the only existing tenable hypotheses. Our review shows that there is little support for any major influence of climate, neither in global extinction patterns nor in fine-scale spatiotemporal and mechanistic evidence. Conversely, there is strong and increasing support for human pressures as the key driver of these extinctions, with emerging evidence for an initial onset linked to pre-sapiens hominins prior to the Late Pleistocene. Subsequently, we synthesize the evidence for ecosystem consequences of megafauna extinctions and discuss the implications for conservation and restoration. A broad range of evidence indicates that the megafauna extinctions have elicited profound changes to ecosystem structure and functioning. The late-Quaternary megafauna extinctions thereby represent an early, large-scale human-driven environmental transformation, constituting a progenitor of the Anthropocene, where humans are now a major player in planetary functioning. Finally, we conclude that megafauna restoration via trophic rewilding can be expected to have positive effects on biodiversity across varied Anthropocene settings.

China is facing hotter and longer heatwaves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change, the weather bureau warned on Thursday, as the world's second-biggest economy braces for another scorching summer.

In its annual climate "Blue Book", the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) warned that maximum temperatures across the country could rise by 1.7-2.8 degrees Celsius within 30 years, with eastern China and the northwestern region of Xinjiang set to suffer the most.

China describes itself as one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, and it is coming under increasing pressure to adapt to rapidly changing weather patterns and sea levels that are rising faster than the global average.

"China is a region that is sensitive to global climate change, a region where the impact will be significant," said Yuan Jiashuang, vice-director of the CMA's National Climate Centre, at a briefing.

She warned that if emissions remained high, extreme heat events expected to occur once every fifty years in China could happen every other year by the end of the century, and rainfall could double and become more unpredictable.

The weather bureau said on Thursday that it expects temperatures in most areas across China to be relatively high over the next few months, signalling a second consecutive summer of extreme heat.

"The weather is going to be different from previous years and there is more extreme weather now," said Chen Yuhan, a resident of China's commercial hub Shanghai, which saw above-38 Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) temperatures on Thursday.

Prolonged heatwave may damage rice, cotton crops

China's weather bureau warned on Thursday that a prolonged heatwave forecast in the country's eastern, central and southern regions in July may hit production of rice and cotton, as extreme weather continues to threaten its food production.

"It is necessary to guard against the risk of yield reduction of cotton, early rice and late rice caused by high temperature and heat damage," Jia Xiaolong, the CMA's deputy director, said at a briefing. Summer temperatures in regions including Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu and Ningxia are expected to be 1 to 2 degrees Celsius (1.8 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal, the CMA said.

China is facing hotter and longer heatwaves, as well as more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change, the weather bureau warned.

Record-breaking temperatures last month have already broiled key grain producing provinces in the northwest and east, forcing corn farmers to delay planting, while torrential rain in other regions flooded soybean and rice fields.

Extreme weather is hurting developing crops globally as the impact of climate change intensifies, with vast swathes of farmland in China, Russia, India and the United States experiencing extremely hot conditions and below-normal rainfall, squeezing world supplies and pushing prices higher.

Abstract

Permaculture is proposed as a tool to design and manage agroecological systems in response to the pressing environmental challenges of soil degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss. However, scientific evidence on the effects of permaculture is still scarce. In this comprehensive study on a wide range of soil and biodiversity indicators, we examined nine farms utilizing permaculture and paired control fields with locally predominant agriculture in Central Europe. We found 27% higher soil carbon stocks on permaculture sites than on control fields, while soil bulk density was 20% lower and earthworm abundance was 201% higher. Moreover, concentrations of various soil macro- and micronutrients were higher on permaculture sites indicating better conditions for crop production. Species richness of vascular plants, earthworms and birds was 457%, 77% and 197% higher on permaculture sites, respectively. Our results suggest permaculture as effective tool for the redesign of farming systems towards environmental sustainability.

UK fruit and vegetable production has plummeted as farms have been hit by extreme weather.

The country suffered the wettest 18 months since records began across the 2023-24 growing year, leaving soil waterlogged and some farms totally underwater. The impact on harvests has been disastrous. Data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs shows that year-on-year vegetable yields decreased by 4.9% to 2.2m tonnes in 2023, and the production volumes of fruit decreased by 12% to 585,000 tonnes.

Farmers said they were not able to plant due to the wet weather, and this is borne out in the statistics. The growing area of vegetables was down, falling by 6.5% to 101,000 hectares. A dry early summer in 2023 also did not help, as those who could not irrigate found it hard to plant.

Wet weather in the autumn and winter meant that the planted area of brassicas decreased by 3.1% to 23,000 hectares, leading to a 0.4% fall in broccoli yields and a 9.2% year-on-year fall in cauliflower volumes. Onions fared similarly, with volumes down by 13% and a fall in production area of 3.6%. So did carrots; their yields fell by 7.2%.

Farmers said the next government needed a proper plan for food security as the UK’s climate becomes less predictable, with more extreme weather hitting farms.

Abstract

Sea-level rise will lead to widespread habitat loss if warming exceeds 2 °C, threatening coastal wildlife globally. Reductions in coastal habitat quality are also expected but their impact and timing are unclear. Here we combine four decades of field data with models of sea-level rise, coastal geomorphology, adaptive behaviour and population dynamics to show that habitat quality is already declining for shorebirds due to increased nest flooding. Consequently, shorebird population collapses are projected well before their habitat drowns in this UNESCO World Heritage Area. The existing focus on habitat loss thus severely underestimates biodiversity impacts of sea-level rise. Shorebirds will also suffer much sooner than previously thought, despite adapting by moving to higher grounds and even if global warming is kept below 2 °C. Such unavoidable and imminent biodiversity impacts imply that mitigation is now urgently needed to boost the resilience of marshes or provide flood-safe habitat elsewhere.

Thousands of homes are under threat from a raging wildfire that erupted in northern California on Tuesday, as the state simmers in a brutal and potentially historic heatwave.

Roughly 28,000 residents have been forced to evacuate as the Thompson fire quickly swept across more than 3,500 acres (1,416 hectares) near the city of Oroville, about an hour outside Sacramento, California’s capital.

More than 1,400 fire personnel from across the state have deployed to battle the blaze, which was at 0% containment Wednesday afternoon. Eight injuries have been confirmed by officials, at least half of whom were firefighters, as dangerously high temperatures continue to threaten their health and safety.

“The combination of events has presented a huge challenge for firefighters,” he said, urging the public to take extra precautions to limit new fire starts that can quickly spread crews thin, especially as temperatures spike.

“It’s a tough thing to do,” he said. “You are asking people to hike up a mountain when it’s 108F (42.2C) outside.”

Temperatures in the state capital, Sacramento, were forecasted to reach between 105F and 115F (40.5C and 46.1C) – conditions that could last until Sunday.

“This is going to be a severe, prolonged, potentially record-breaking heatwave that may have large impacts for much of California,” said climate scientist Dr Daniel Swain during a broadcast discussion of the heat event on Monday. The long duration will only add to the potential impacts and intensity, especially because little relief can be expected even after the sun sets. “It just isn’t going to cool off – even at night,” Swain said.

Abstract

The eminent protein sources among the vegetarian population include cereals and pulses that do not satisfy the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) level. The anti-nutrients such as protease inhibitors are responsible for the diminished bioavailability of plant protein. Consumption of a protein deficit diet severely impacts muscle health; hence, it becomes necessary to design an alternative source of complete protein. One such non-meat source with all essential amino acids in required quantity is seaweeds, an aquatic plant. The unique flavour and umami taste possessed by seaweeds notably enhance consumer acceptability. The principal focus of this review was on novel food products, digestibility, quality of protein, and consumer satisfactoriness of consuming seaweeds. The yield of seaweed obtained is based on the aquaculture system's type, location, season, and other environmental conditions, which is a significant challenge faced during extraction. This hurdle may prevail via unconventional extraction procedures summarized in this review. Subsequently, the consumers are becoming health conscious, seaweed-based food products are predicted to have excellent market potential. It is concluded that seaweeds can potentially contribute to future global security in functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Beryl lashed Jamaica with strong winds and storm surge and strong waves as the Category 4 hurricane brushed the southern coast of the island Wednesday, officials said.

Beryl had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph when it brushed the Caribbean nation of 2.8 million, and it had 130 mph winds as it approached the southwestern part of the country at 8 p.m., the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm, which had made history as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in July before it was downgraded from Category 5 to Category 4, has been blamed for at least seven deaths as it devastated parts of the Windward Islands and caused flooding and damage in Venezuela.

No deaths have been reported in Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said. He said the hurricane was moving quickly, "which is good for us. The quicker it moves, the better."

Hurricane Beryl leaves "Armaggedon-like" destruction

Caribbean leaders are taking to social media in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, sharing shocking images and video of widespread destruction.

Grenada's prime minister described sweeping destruction on the Caribbean nation's island of Carriacou as "almost Armageddon-like," while the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines called the damage to Union Island "a devastating spectacle."

The storm made landfall on the tiny island of Grenada on Monday as a Category 4, wiping out much of the island's electrical infrastructure, homes and agriculture.

"Almost total damage or destruction of all buildings, whether they be public buildings, homes or other private facilities," Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said on Tuesday. "Complete devastation and destruction of agriculture. Complete and total destruction of the natural environment. There is literally no vegetation left anywhere on the island of Carriacou."

Carriacou, which means "Isle of Reefs," is just 13 square miles, but it is the second-largest island within Grenada. Hurricane Beryl's size and strength completely overpowered the island, as well as its neighbor, St. Vincent and the Grenadines' Union Island, which saw 90% of its homes severely damaged or destroyed.

A temperature event of 33 degrees Celsius in Dublin's Phoenix Park has gone from being a 1 in 180-year event in 1942 to a 1 in 9-year event in 2020, according to a study led by Ireland's Maynooth University.

The study, which developed a new model to predict the frequency, magnitude and spatial extent of extreme summer temperature events in Ireland, also estimates that a temperature of more than 34 degrees Celsius—a value not yet recorded in Ireland—changed from a 1 in 1,600-year event to a 1 in 28-year event between 1942 and 2020.

According to Prof Parnell, "We are often focused on average changes, and particularly focus on the Paris Climate Agreement of 1.5 degrees Celsius. What we have shown here is that the changes in extremes are much larger than the changes in the average, and are something we should be seriously concerned about."

He said the findings underscored the urgency for societal adaptation to increasing extreme temperature events, which have profound implications for public health, agriculture, economic stability, and infrastructure resilience. The research team believe that the model's ability to predict spatial patterns of extreme events offers a powerful tool for policymakers and stakeholders to mitigate risks and plan for future climate scenarios.

We occasionally greet each other, but that’s all. If one of my neighbours died, I’m not sure I would notice,” says Noriko Shikama, 76. She lives alone in a flat Tokiwadaira, in Tokyo’s commuter belt and has come to the Iki Iki drop-in centre to catch up with residents over cups of coffee served by volunteers.

Here, amid the everyday discussions about the merits or otherwise of dyeing grey hair, people also share news about the latest lonely death, or kodokushi – officially defined as one in which “a person dies without being cared for by anyone, and whose body is found after a certain period”.

Almost 22,000 people in Japan died at home alone in the first three months of this year, according to a recent report by the national police agency, about 80% of them aged 65 or older. By the end of the year, the agency estimates that cases of solitary deaths will reach 68,000, compared with about 27,000 in 2011.

Tokiwadaira in the town of Matsudo was the first community forced to confront the distressing phenomenon two decades ago, with the discovery of a man whose corpse had been lying in his apartment unnoticed for three years. His rent and bills had been paid automatically, and his death was noticed only when his savings ran out.

“The economy was booming then, and families were desperate to live here. It was a lively place. But now everyone is getting old,” says Oshima, who moved to Tokiwadaira with her husband and young son in 1961, when the estate was home to 15,000 people.

Now, as Japan’s population continues to age, more people are spending the final years of their lives in isolation. The number of people over 65 living alone stood at 7.38 million in 2020 and is expected to rise to almost 11 million by 2050, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. Single-person households account for almost 38% of total households, according to the 2020 census, a 13.3% rise from the previous survey conducted five years earlier.