James Kirkham

As scientists 🧪 who regularly attend UN #climate summits, we've noticed efforts to downplay, confuse and dilute the latest scientific findings, especially from the cryosphere ❄️. This is alarming. More details in @theconversation.com theconversation.com/earths-froze... @geogdurham.bsky.social

Did humans stop the next ice age? www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New paper in Nature Communications led by Lander Van Tricht: glacier models run with daily instead of monthly climate data project 5 to 10% more glacier ice loss by 2100. That adds 20 to 33 mm to global sea-level rise. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

There was "absolutely no doubt that human-induced climate change played a role here in the preconditioning of the Nepal debris flood disaster" - @wwattribution.bsky.social www.bbc.com/news/article...

Analysis by @wwattribution.bsky.social finds global warming fingerprints all over the deadly Nepal mountain and glacier collapse and subsequent flood and debris flow. insideclimatenews.org/news/1609202...

Greenland and Antarctica have lost over 11 trillion tonnes of ice since the 1970s, driving global sea level up by more than 3 cm! New paper from the IMBIE Group: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪❄️

@unep.org outlines the impact of repeated government failures to cut GHG emissions in line with the Paris Agreement There are no good outcomes in overshooting and staying above 1.5°C, only enormous risks Massive near-term emissions reductions are now needed to limit overshoot extent and duration

If you want 1.5C, 1.8C, 2C, overshoot, no-overshoot, etc, then they all require the same thing: rapid short-term emission reductions reaching net zero CO2 emissions as soon as possible. This has been clear from the IPCC Special Report on 1.5C, which depicts "overshoot" on its cover! 1/

This summer was the hottest on record in the UK The summer of 1976 that some folks my age keep banging on about is now only the SEVENTH hottest on record The top five hottest summers all happened since 2003 We're heating the planet by burning fossil fuels www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...

#IPCC’s 2019 Ocean & Cryosphere report states that in the context of mountain flood & landslide hazards, exposure, & vulnerability growing in the coming century, significant risk reduction & adaptation strategies will be required to avoid increased impacts. Read our reports here www.ipcc.ch

1/4 In August the Rhine at Kaub, its shallowest point, fell below 10cm. The previous record low, set in 2018, was 25cm. In June 2025 the body regulating Rhine shipping said flow would not clearly change before 2050, and deferred any decision on measures to 2027. www.ccr-zkr.org/files/infovo...

My initial thoughts on the Langtang-Lirung glacier collapse and devastating floods in Tibet and Nepal. www.antarcticglaciers.org/2026/08/augu...

The devastating events in Nepal & Tibet originated from a glacier collapsing on the N side of Langtang-Lirung mountain. @gunjan87.bsky.social recent paper on Langtang glaciers shows that they are rapidly warming, and that the rate of recession is accelerating. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📣Announcement: ICCI are happy to announce that applications for #COP31 Cryosphere Pavilion side events and early career scientist volunteers are now open! More information: iccinet.org/cop31-cryosp... The deadline for applications is Monday, August 31. We hope to see many of you in Antalya!

NEW – Factcheck: No, Europe is not having its ‘quietest’ year for wildfires ✍️ @giulianaviglione.bsky.social and @rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org 💬 With comments from @calxcunningham.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/pDQGTR3

Rahmstorf: “Some people think we can wait and, when it gets too bad, then we reduce emissions People don’t realise that we can’t make it get better again. We can only prevent it from getting much worse.”

In today’s climate, events of this intensity are expected to occur once every 20 years in southwestern France and once every six years in central Spain.

Human-induced climate change made the extreme fire weather that fuelled the recent destructive wildfires at least twice as likely in France and at least 20 times more likely in Spain, according to our new study.

Europe's worst heatwave so far, in terms of heat stress measures and temperatures - brought to you by fossil fuels. New @wwattribution.bsky.social study showing how such deadly heat became possible in only a few decades. www.worldweatherattribution.org/fossil-fuel-...

The model spread for this year's El Niño forecasts remains insane. 11 of the 13 models expect a very strong (aka "super") El Niño. (rONI > 2 °C) 7 of 13 expect the strongest El Niño in modern history.

Here's the CCC's @elpinchbeck.bsky.social speaking today in front of the Met Office's new "future forecast" for a... ..."plausible 2056 heatwave". Yes, that's showing 45C (113F) in the Bristol area! With exquisite timing, the UK's all-time June temp record is due to be broken this week.

BREAKING: UK govt is targeting 87% cut in emissions by 2040 under the 7th "carbon budget" It says meeting this target will boost energy security, lower bills, create jobs and growth, improve quality of life – and tackle the "climate crisis"

New article out: Antarctic science operations must account for climate change and extreme environmental events @bas.ac.uk www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-03629-2

🚨New paper about the second largest tsunami ever recorded, just published in @science.org A short 🧪⚒️🌊 thread #EGU26 @ucalgary.bsky.social @ucalgaryscience.bsky.social doi.org/10.1126/scie...

You can get to a high-warming world without high emissions . That's the part of this week's "RCP 8.5 is implausible" discussion that's getting missed. A short thread on why the relief is premature 🧵

"Ironically, amidst all the death and destruction he has wreaked, the “drill baby, drill” President may have done the green energy revolution a big favour." iceblog.org/2026/04/29/r...

Europe is warming >2x as fast as the global average, reducing snow & ice cover. High air temperatures, drought, heatwaves & record ocean temperatures affect regions from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. European State of Climate #ESOTC2025 Read more: bit.ly/ESOTC2025pr Full report: bit.ly/ESOTC2025

New paper out in Phil Trans R Soc A. We asked a simple question: are the IPCC’s lowest sea-level rise scenarios actually achievable? Short answer: probably not. 🧵 royalsocietypublishing.org/rsta/article...

The achievability of low-emission IPCC sea-level rise scenarios by @helenmillman.bsky.social "‘low-end’ projections may underestimate the true pace and magnitude of future SLR. If we continue today’s mid-higher emissions pathway... more than 1 m by 2100 should be planned for." tinyurl.com/murb3t6j

Happy #EarthDay! 🌍 Today we are launching a white paper on Barriers to Glaciers-Related Financing. As temperatures continue to rise, finance will be needed to respond to the impact of glacier loss on mountain 🗻 and water 🧊 ecosystems. iccinet.org/glacier-fina...

Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought - Scientists say finding is ‘very concerning’ as collapse would be catastrophic for Europe, Africa and the Americas #AMOC #climatecrisis Story by me www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Cost of net zero by 2050 less than a single fossil fuel price shock. #climate eciu.net/media/press-...

One month until the first conference on transitioning away from #fossilfuels 👀. Some in depth overview by @sebastianrodvar.bsky.social 👇 Shared some thoughts how necessary this is & that we expect progress in two tiers: Phase out champions + countries who move slower but in the right direction.

Significant acceleration of global warming since 2015, finds news PIK study with @rahmstorf.bsky.social Recent warming: around ~0.35°C per decade. 1970–2015 average: just under 0.2°C per dec. ➡️Current rate is higher than in any decade since records began in 1880. www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late...

The Guardian on our new study, which shows that global heating is significantly gathering speed. Our efforts to overcome our fossil fuel addiction should do the same. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Between 1992-2025, large areas of the grounding line of #Antarctic glaciers have retreated. The largest changes have occurred in W. Antarctica, where grounding lines have retreated 10-40+ km, driven by incursions of warm water masses along deep bathymetric troughs www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.... ❄️🧪🌊

Limiting warming to 2C or below is crucial to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula! ❄️🧪🌊 Summary of the paper by @carbonbrief.org : www.carbonbrief.org/limiting-war... Full paper: www.frontiersin.org/journals/env...

The future of the Antarctic Peninsula under three different scenarios - the choices we make today determine the future. Policy Brief with @granthamicl.bsky.social spiral.imperial.ac.uk/entities/pub...

NEW – Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula ✍️ @giulianaviglione.bsky.social 💬 comments from @iceybethan.bsky.social @treacherousbuzz.bsky.social @tridatta.bsky.social @scottdoney.bsky.social Read here: buff.ly/wELuQCm

New review paper on "The implications of overshooting 1.5 °C on Earth system tipping elements" Main points: Overshooting 1.5°C raises risks of irreversible Earth-system tipping, which depends on peak warming and more so on how long critical thresholds are exceeded. doi.org/10.1088/1748...

Revealed: 10 new insights in climate science (and they are not good) www.esa.int/Applications...

New study analyses the tipping points of different #Antarctica drainage basins. A first threshold, 1–2 °C above preindustrial levels, triggers the long-term collapse of 40% of marine ice in West Antarctica! Marine-based sectors in East Antarctica are at risk of losing stability at 2–5 °C. ❄️🧪🌊

3/ We analyzed 18 major Antarctic ice drainage basins using the ice-sheet model #PISM, gradually increasing global mean temperature to map their long-term response. Result: different regions respond very differently to warming.

🔔🚨 New Publication Alert! Research has shown that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is a climate tipping element. We found: it’s not one — it’s many. 📄 Paper (open access): www.nature.com/articles/s41... 📢 Press release: www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late... Tread below 🧵👇

NEW ANALYSIS: China's CO2 has now been 'flat or falling' for 21 months * Down in 2025 * Still below Mar 2024 * Clean energy wave a key factor If this is China's peak (TBC) it's the climate story of the century so far… www.carbonbrief.org/...

Rising temperatures could to lead to the loss of thousands of glaciers per year, with up to ~4,000 vanishing annually under high emissions. 1.5°C could halve this loss 🧵 @landervt.bsky.social @harryzeko.bsky.social @matthias-huss.bsky.social @davidrounce.bsky.social @lilianschuster.bsky.social

As world leaders, businesses and civil society gather in #Davos for the #WEF, here is a timely reminder why Greenland is indispensable to global #climate science 🧪 via: Prof Martin Siegert in @theconversation.com theconversation.com/why-greenlan...

INSTANT invites you to a webinar on climate science diplomacy with Dr. James Kirkham (International Cryosphere Climate Initiative). "Climate science diplomacy: What is it? How do YOU do it? And how can we make policymakers care about ice?” 📅 30 January, 12:00 CET scar.org/scar-news/pr...

Amazingly, Zahawi only got round to deleting the below after the press conference announcing his defection to Reform.

Trump moves to pull the US from bedrock climate treaty, UN IPCC and other int'l orgs & UN agencies. In doing so, the US becomes the only country to withdraw from this particular climate agreement dating back to 1992 (UNFCCC). www.cnn.com/2026/01/07/c...

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.