Japan and South Korea have rewritten the definition of summer heat, with both nations recording their hottest summers since records began. Japan's summer temperatures soared 2.36°C above the 30-year average, marking the third consecutive year of record-breaking heat since 1898. South Korea matched this alarming trend, with average summer temperatures hitting 25.7°C - the highest since data collection began in 1973, surpassing the previous record from 2024. The human toll was severe: Japan saw 84,521 people hospitalised from heat-related illnesses between May and August. The extreme conditions transformed daily life, forcing children indoors and leaving cherry blossom trees blooming out of season or failing to flower entirely. Scientists linked the unprecedented heat to weakening Arctic cold air due to global warming, a pattern expected to intensify in the coming years.

A chilling new study reveals that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) - the vast ocean current system that includes the Gulf Stream - could shut down entirely after 2100 under high-emission scenarios. The research, extending climate models centuries into the future, found that AMOC collapse would slash Europe's heat supply by up to 80%, triggering severe winter extremes and summer droughts. The tipping point hinges on the collapse of deep winter convection in key North Atlantic seas, creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop. As global warming reduces winter heat loss from oceans, surface waters become warmer and lighter, disrupting the vertical mixing essential to AMOC's circulation. Troublingly, recent observations already show declining trends in these critical regions over the past decade. The findings underscore that even with aggressive emission cuts, existential climatic risks require increased oversight and attention.

A comprehensive review has identified "solastalgia" - the distress caused by environmental changes to one's surroundings - as a significant factor linking climate change to mental health problems. Coined by Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht, this fusion of ‘solace’ and the Greek suffix for pain, ‘algia’, describes a feeling when familiar environments become unrecognisable. Analysis of 19 studies across multiple countries revealed consistent associations between solastalgia and depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Unlike responses to one-time disasters, the research found stronger correlations with ongoing environmental destruction, such as continuous mining or gradual ecosystem degradation. Residents near Australia's Black Summer fires who reported high solastalgia were twice as likely to screen positive for depression or suicidal ideation six months later. The findings suggest that as climate change transforms landscapes worldwide, millions may experience this particular form of environmental grief.

A stark new report by UNICEF projects that climate change will push at least 5.9 million more children and young people in Latin America and the Caribbean into poverty by 2030 - a figure that could triple to 17.9 million if governments fail to meet emission reduction commitments. The analysis revealed that children bear the greatest burden of climate change due to their developing bodies' vulnerability to extreme weather and their families' disrupted livelihoods. Despite this disproportionate impact, only 3.4% of multilateral climate finance in the region targets children's needs. The report highlights how droughts are intensifying across Central America's Dry Corridor, northeastern Brazil, and parts of the Southern Cone are devastating agricultural productivity, with lifelong nutritional consequences for young people. The findings call for urgent investment in climate-resilient health, education, and social protection systems specifically designed for children.

Uganda's coffee farmers are pioneering innovative adaptation strategies to combat climate change's mounting threats to the crop that sustains 1.7 million households. Facing rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and expanding pest ranges - including coffee leaf rust now found at elevations as high as 1,800 meters - farmers are implementing comprehensive resilience measures. Key strategies include sophisticated water management through contour trenches, strategic agroforestry with shade trees like Mutuba that provide additional income, and mulching with organic materials to conserve soil moisture. Researchers have also developed F1 hybrid coffee varieties offering disease resistance and higher yields, while training programs disseminate climate-smart practices through farmer-to-farmer networks. The urgency is real: projections indicate that areas suitable for Arabica coffee cultivation could shrink by 20% by 2050, forcing farmers to compete for increasingly scarce suitable land. Uganda's experience offers a blueprint for coffee-producing regions worldwide grappling with similar climate pressures.

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