Climate Change

As part of the international CLOUD project at the nuclear research centre CERN, researchers at PSI have identified so-called sesquiterpenes – gaseous hydrocarbons that are released by plants – as being a major factor in cloud formation. This finding could reduce uncertainties in climate models and help make more accurate predictions. The study has now been published in the journal Science Advances.

A study by EPFL researchers found that Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future climate strikes have influenced the environmental behavior of Swiss residents.

In many low-lying regions or at sun-exposed places in Switzerland, trees have put on their autumn colors already in late August – much too early. WSL researchers explain the underlying factors.

Through a new bilateral carbon trading pact, Switzerland is poised to fund thousands of household biogas reactors in Malawi. Marc Kalina has worked with biogas projects across Southern Africa and explains why they often fail to make their promised impact.

The risk of fatal heatwaves has risen sharply over the past 20 years. In the future, such extreme weather will become more frequent and heat-related excess mortality will increase. Europe will be particularly affected, as ETH Zurich researchers show.

Green spaces or trees can mitigate urban heat, but it takes time for the cooling effects to develop. Modelling using satellite data can show how much time is needed.