Carbon Brief experts compiled the TOP-25 most discussed news and articles related to climate or energy in 2022.
They used data from Altmetric, an organization that ranks academic papers according to the media attention they receive, reports Carbon Brief.
The article noted that the research was picked up around the world by online news outlets and shared on social media, including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
- Climate change increases the risk of virus transmission
The authors emphasized that the most discussed scientific study was "Climate change increases the risk of virus transmission between species", published in Nature. It warns that mammals are forced to migrate to cooler habitats due to global warming. This leads to the spread of viruses between different groups of animals and their transmission to humans. The world's "biodiversity hotspots" and densely populated parts of Asia and Africa are likely to suffer the most from such negative impacts.
The paper received an altmetric score of 7803, the highest score of any climate paper featured in Carbon Brief's annual reviews, and only the second time a paper's highest score exceeded 7000. The study was covered in 716 news stories by 558 outlets worldwide and became the most talked about on Twitter of all the top 25 climate works.
- Turning points
The second highest rated 2022 climate paper was "Global warming above 1.5C could trigger multiple climate tipping points" in the journal Science. She has an altmetric score of 6573.
The article emphasized that the study provides the first comprehensive assessment of climate-related tipping points. It identifies 16 climate tipping points and warns of a "significant likelihood" that several tipping points will be crossed if global temperatures exceed 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
The study was mentioned in 667 news stories from 397 publications, including the Guardian, New Scientist and BBC News. It received the most mentions on blogs, Wikipedia pages, and was featured in over 6,000 tweets.
- Arctic warming
In third place in the Carbon Brief TOP with an altmetric score of 6201 is the study "Since 1979, the Arctic has warmed almost four times faster than the globe."
It is common knowledge that the temperature in the Arctic is rising much faster than the global average. The lead author of the study, Dr. Mika Rantanen, emphasized that the warming of the Arctic and its consequences have become one of the biggest manifestations of climate change.
The article was covered in 765 news stories from 525 publications, including the Independent, the New York Times, Scientific American, and the Washington Post.
- Greenland ice sheet
In 4th place with an altmetric score of 6147, the authors placed the Nature Climate Change article "Climatic disequilibrium of the Greenland ice sheet and significant sea level rise".
The imbalance of the Greenland ice sheet caused by global warming means it will already raise global sea levels by at least 274mm regardless of climate efforts, the study shows. The research was covered by 867 news items in 658 mass media.
- Exacerbation of infectious diseases
The article "More than half of known human pathogenic diseases may worsen due to climate change", published in Nature Climate Change, was also included in the top five of Carbon Brief.
Almost 60% of diseases caused by pathogens that affect humans have become more dangerous due to warming and drought, the study shows.
The authors found that while 16% of infectious diseases have declined due to climate hazards, there are more than 1,000 "unique pathways" through which pathogenic diseases have been exacerbated by climate change. They warn that these pathways are too many for comprehensive social adaptation, and the work highlights the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The article has a total Altmetric score of 6079, was covered by 803 news stories from 582 media outlets, 31 posts from 28 blogs, and 2571 tweets from 2277 users.
- "Catastrophic" consequences of climate change
It is noted that the article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences "Climate Finale: Exploring Catastrophic Climate Change Scenarios" was mentioned in 556 news items from 428 mass media. The study warns that the consequences of more extreme warming are "dangerously understudied" and says the world must start preparing for a "climate finale".
- Ocean warming
The authors emphasized that with an altmetric score of 4807, the seventh place went to the article "Another record: ocean warming continues until 2021, despite La Niña conditions."
- Dependence of health on fossil fuels
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change annual report ranks eighth in the TOP. The article "Health dependent on fossil fuels" was mentioned in 521 news items from 386 mass media. The report concludes that climate change is increasingly affecting health amid the increasing impact of Covid-19, the cost of living and the energy crisis.
- Mega drought
The article noted that the study "Rapid intensification of a new megadrought in southwestern North America in 2020-2021" shows that the megadrought is the driest in at least 1,200 years. It was covered in 1,187 news items – more than any other of the TOP 25 publications.
- Loss of sustainability of tropical forests
Rounding out the top 10 climate articles of 2022 is Nature Climate Change's Carbon Brief, "Marked loss of Amazon rainforest resilience since early 2000s" with an altmetric score of 4195. This article was mentioned in 563 news items out of 434 publications.
The study shows that three-quarters of the Amazon rainforest has lost its resilience since 2003, making it more vulnerable to extreme events such as droughts.
The material noted that another 15 articles from the TOP-25 highlighted the effects of climate change on biodiversity, the global carbon budget, problems of green and bioenergy, etc.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, new research from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, has shown that the current rate of warming will put the Earth at risk the intersection of six dangerous climatic tipping points.
