Rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events pose a significant health risk to urban populations. Heat builds up in cities, creating so-called ‘urban heat islands’. In Switzerland, this is evident from the fact that night-time temperatures in cities are up to 5–7 °C higher than in the surrounding rural areas. Green spaces and trees can help to reduce this risk and improve the urban climate. Read more about this in this Flash article (available in German and French).

 ©   Matthias Huss

From 29 June onwards, Switzerland’s glaciers will have exhausted their snow reserves. Every litre of meltwater now causes them to lose mass – this is Glacier Loss Day. Between the extreme years of 2003 and 2022 alone, 200 square kilometres of ice – an area almost as large as the canton of Zug – have disappeared. This is reflected in the volume of meltwater, as analyses show: although ice loss was more severe in the summer of 2022 than in 2003, less water flowed off the glaciers. Read more here

 ©   IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

Two weeks of tense UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, have produced few tangible outcomes as diplomats faced “gridlock”. Negotiators failed to find agreement in numerous areas, such as scaling up global emissions cuts and funding for climate adaptation. In the closing plenary, many diplomats lamented weakened trust in the UN climate process, as it struggled to find its footing in a new geopolitical landscape.  As ever, climate finance was one of the greatest sources of tension between developed and developing countries, influencing the debate around adaptation and trade in the Bonn talks. Many countries criticised “coordinated attacks” on science by those with “fossil-fuel interests”. Some delegates saw progress on a “just transition mechanism” to support communities through decarbonisation as a positive outcome, with a package of texts agreed for the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey. Read more here

 ©   WMO

Fueled by unusually warm ocean waters in the tropical Pacific, El Niño conditions are developing and are set to influence global temperature and rainfall patterns, increasing the risk of extreme weather over the coming months. A new WMO El Niño/La Niña Update indicates an 80% likelihood of an El Niño event during June–August 2026. Probabilities for this to continue until at least November are near or above 90%. Find out more

For the second time, the University of Bern is launching the “Ready to Reduce” ideas competition to support concrete projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The submission date is possible 30. June 2026. They are looking for projects ready for implementation that contribute to reducing greenhouse gases in the following areas: Reuse and circular economy, energy efficiency and energy-saving measures, sustainable mobility, resource efficiency in laboratories and research infrastructures. The Deadline for submitting project ideas is 30 September 2026. Read more here

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will be necessary to limit climate change, accompanying rapid and deep emissions reductions. The State of CDR 3rd Edition collates new insights, explores knowledge gaps and defines core concepts while also aiming to improve the reliability and accessibility of CDR data. This first chapter sets out the role of CDR in climate change mitigation, defines CDR for the purposes of this report, outlines the characteristics of key CDR methods and presents an overview of the report and key improvements from previous editions. Find out more

Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average, making climate resilience increasingly urgent. While all EEA member countries have adaptation policies in place, progress remains uneven. Gaps in climate risk assessments, implementation, financing, monitoring and cross-border cooperation limit preparedness. Shared methodologies, metrics and the systematic assessment of adaptation measures, alongside clearer coordination and risk ownership, are needed to track and advance climate resilience across Europe. This European Environment Agency report provides a consolidated overview of reported national adaptation actions across Europe between 2021 and 2025. Find out more

The Breakthrough Agenda has served as a framework for strengthening international collaboration across major emitting sectors. Participating countries have endorsed shared “Breakthrough” goals to make clean technologies and sustainable practices more affordable, accessible and attractive than their alternatives by 2030 across the power, road transport, hydrogen, steel, cement and buildings sectors. The Breakthrough Agenda establishes an annual cycle to track progress towards these goals, identify where stronger or more co‑ordinated international action is needed, and support collective efforts to accelerate deployment. Find out more 

The Global Justice Report attempts to set out a new vision for global progress in the 21st century: grounding human development and equality in planetary habitability. It explores the conditions under which the world could move toward this horizon and traces an economically and ecologically consistent transition path from 2026 to 2100. Fast decarbonization of energy systems is necessary. But we also need a major shift toward sufficiency – understood as a sharp reduction in labour hours and material footprint and large changes in consumption patterns, food habits, land use, and forest cover. Find out more