Climate Change

Wildfire Disasters Surged in the Past 10 Years, Study Shows

October 2, 2025

Photo depicts a firefighter battling a blaze at a Southern California home during the Palisades fire in January 2025.

Nearly half of the world’s worst wildfire disasters have occurred in just the past decade, new research from UC Merced’s Fire Resilience Center shows. A study published Thursday in the journal Science reveals that 43 percent of catastrophic wildfire disasters struck in the past 10...

Students from Universidad Autónoma Chapingo in Texcoco, Mexico, visited UC Merced in March.

Campus Visit Broadens Mexican Research Collaborations

When three buses rolled onto campus on one chilly winter morning, UC Merced gave the occupants a warm Bobcat welcome. More than 100 undergraduate students and faculty members from Universidad...

The future of agriculture will be discussed at a summit March 30.

What's the Future of Agriculture? Summit Looks Ahead

UC Merced researchers will discuss the campus's Experimental Smart Farm, as well as pressing agricultural issues, at a one-day summit later this month at California State University, Fresno....

Ph.D. Student Named an American Farmland Trust Research Fellow

Fourth year Environmental Systems Ph.D. student Elena Bischak has been named a research fellow by the American Farmland Trust (AFT). The AFT Research Fellows Program aims to “empower the...

Professor Rebecca Ryals and her students study soil organic amendments.

Ryals’ Teaching, Research and Service Earns Her Presidential Chair in Climate Change

Professor Rebecca Ryals has made campus history by being named UC Merced’s inaugural Presidential Chair in Climate Change. The appointment was recommended by her peers and Dean Betsy Dumont...

Field researcher at California's tidal pools.

Research Week Highlights Solutions to Urgent Environmental Issues

It's time for the campus and the community to celebrate UC Merced’s high-level research during Research Week, March 6 through 10. The annual research showcase, hosted by the Office of...

Berhe Chosen for National Academy Membership in Recognition of Her Soil Research

Soil biogeochemistry Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe — who is on leave from UC Merced while she serves as federal director of the Office of Science for the Department of Energy — has...

Several farmworkers are seen in a field.

Community and Labor Center's New Study Highlights Farmworkers' Health Challenges

A new landmark study by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center shows farmworkers across California are facing serious health challenges on a daily basis. The goal of the Farmworker Health...

Bear Creek in Merced rose above flood level after storms pummeled the area in January 2023.

What Will it Take to End the Drought in California?

In the wake of record-breaking rain and snow this winter, experts have cautioned that despite the deluge, California remains in a drought. The United States Drought Monitor shows much of...

Professor Findlater and graduate student Aneelman Brar.

Findlater First at UC Merced to Join DOE-funded Energy Frontier Research Center

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that is contributing to irreversible climate change. Scientists know how to capture CO2, and they know how to transform it into useful molecules and materials...