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When scientists, policymakers and journalists communicate environmental threats, they often rely on future dates: "water shortages by 2046" or "biodiversity loss by 2060."

But new research from King's Business School suggests that a simple shift in wording can make these threats feel more immediate and harder to dismiss.

The paper, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, examined how "date" framing, such as "water shortages by 2046," compares with "time-left" framing, such as "water shortages within 20 years."

Analyzing climate coverage at scale and testing responses in large studies, the researchers found that messages focused on how much time remains make environmental threats feel closer and more urgent, driving higher engagement and support for action.

The researchers found that time-left framing creates a feeling that time is "counting down" toward the threat. Rather than focusing attention on a distant calendar year, it highlights the shrinking amount of time available before the threat materializes.

The findings suggest that organizations communicating about climate risks—including researchers, policymakers and the media—could increase public engagement by shifting away from abstract future dates and toward clearer signals of how little time remains.

"Much of the public conversation about climate risk is organized around dates and deadlines. We show that framing threats around how much time is left creates a stronger sense of urgency. That helps explain why some headlines, briefings and campaigns prompt engagement while others struggle to cut through," said Dr. Ozlem Tetik, lecturer in marketing at King's Business School and co-author of the study.

Publication details

Ozlem Tetik et al, The Final Countdown: Temporal Frames of Environmental Threats, Journal of Consumer Research (2026). DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucag018

Who's behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: Is that the time? Why messaging matters with crises on the horizon (2026, July 17) retrieved 17 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-messaging-crises-horizon.html

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This all makes this World Cup’s best-dressed players as compelling off the field as they are on it. Fance may have not made it to the final but Kylian Mbappé remains the sport’s most polished luxury ambassador. Just this year, France’s captain fronted the Nike x Jacquemus Les Bleus collection and starred in Dior’s Summer 2026 campaign, marking Jonathan Anderson’s debut collection as creative director.

On the other side of the coin is Norway’s Erling Haaland, who aside from becoming the competition’s biggest breakout star is also its most unexpected luxury muses. His viral designer bag rotation includes a rare Hermès Haut à Courroies, several Birkin-style carryalls and archival Louis Vuitton pieces. Only a few days after Norway’s loss to England last Saturday, the Norwegian striker touched down in Oslo with a Dolce & Gabbana Sicily tote — straight from the house’s spring 2027 menswear show in Milan last month.

Lamine Yamal represents the next generation. Spain’s teenage star has quickly developed a flashier style, opting for Chanel tweed, Louis Vuitton bags, Dior separates, Chrome Hearts details, Amiri denim and statement sneakers.

Below, a look at a few of the World Cup’s best-dressed players – both on and off the field.

Mbappé arrived to France’s national team training camp in a Nike x Stussy tracksuit with Dior’s Normandie Tote Bag in beige calfskin. 

Erling Haaland

For the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Sartoria show in Rome earlier this year, Haaland leaned into full Italian tailoring in a full monochrome grey D&G suit, layered atop a fitted turtleneck knit. He returned to Italy for Dolce’s Alta Sartoria annual couture show in Sicily this week.

Jackson Irvine

At GQ Germany’s Men of the Year Awards in Berlin, Irvine wore a full Levi’s look, styled by Barbara Gallo: a boxy dark denim jacket and matching wide-leg jeans, layered over a custom Adidas Originals white button-up and finished with black boots.

Lamine Yamal

Yamal brought pitchside swag to Barcelona’s game against Real Betis at Spotify Camp Nou, wearing a Louis Vuitton jacket and belt.

Charles de Ketelaere

Layering neutral classics is the name of the streetstyle game for Ketelaere, who is a strong adherent of Japanese menswear. In Milan earlier this year, he was spotted in a baseball hat from the luxury Japanese denim brand Fullcount alongside a workman jacket designed by Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons.  %!s()

My wife had a year of maternity leave, and I was about to leave my full-time job to start a company that would allow me to work from anywhere (at least during the setup phase).

So, we set out with the very loose, rather ambitious goal of visiting 10 countries with our daughter before her first birthday.

As soon as we'd registered her birth and taken a semi-adequate photo of her, we applied for an infant passport. She was about 14 days old at this point.

We waited until she was a month old, and then our journey began.

Our travels got off to a great start, especially when we stuck to short flights

We started off easy by booking a single night at an inn in the English countryside just over an hour's drive from our house. Before traveling further, we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could stay in a hotel with an infant and live to tell the tale.

With the exception of a little spit up on an expensive velvet green sofa, the stay was a success. We even managed to squeeze in a tasty al-fresco lunch while the baby slept in her pram, and a much-needed massage for my wife just before we checked out.

The next big challenge was trying to fly with a baby — something we were rather anxious about.

When she was 2 months old, we boarded a roughly two-hour flight from London to Pisa, Italy. It was surprisingly easy, as she slept pretty much the whole way. My wife fed her during takeoff and landing to help our daughter's ears adjust to the pressure.

After realizing relatively short flights were a sweet spot, we booked a trip from London to the Isle of Man to introduce our little one to some of our friends and family. The hourlong flight was a breeze, and we stayed with my mum after we landed.

In October, we traveled to the island of Mallorca in Spain's Balearic Islands. Again, the short flight — just under three hours — wasn't bad.

For all of these flights, we also saved money by needing only two plane tickets instead of three, since our baby could sit on one of our laps. Packing a few essentials also really helped us make these trips smoother.

A blackout bassinet cover, for example, allowed our little one to sleep in complete darkness in her pram on the brightest of days, while a portable sound machine blocked out the background noise.

On our longest trip yet, our luck seemed to run out

After a few successful holidays around Europe, we decided to embark on a big trip to Australia, which is on the other side of the world from our home in the UK. The trip spanned five weeks and took place when our daughter was about 8 months old.

The first leg of the journey from London to Singapore — a 13-hour overnight flight — was an absolute nightmare. We'd booked business-class seats with our air miles in the hope we'd be able to get some sleep.

But when we boarded the plane, the bassinet the airline provided for our daughter was more like a car seat than a cot or crib, and we couldn't put a blackout cover on it for safety reasons.

We instantly knew she wasn't going to sleep well, and we were right. It was a grim flight, and we were all very ready to rush off the plane when we arrived in Singapore. Except, we couldn't.

A huge rainstorm descended on Singapore's famous Changi Airport just as we prepared to land, and plans changed.

We circled once or twice, and then the pilot told us he was diverting the plane to Kuala Lumpur. The weather in the area meant a bumpy ride, so the seatbelt signs were on, and our daughter was on my wife's lap.

We sat on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur for an hour or so, waited for the weather to pass, and then returned to Singapore.

The 13-hour flight turned out to be more like 17 hours long — and there may have been a nappy malfunction at some point, but I'll spare you the details.

Thankfully, the rest of the trip was much smoother.

In Singapore, we went to a Jurassic Park exhibition at the iconic Cloud Forest, wandered around the famous Raffles hotel, took a river cruise, and visited the vast Aquarium on Sentosa Island.

In Australia, we visited Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. We loved seeing our daughter get to know the local wildlife and play with our friends and family.

Our flight home was via Doha with Qatar Airways. We used air miles, meaning we could afford to fly business on the 14-hour leg from Melbourne to Doha.

It was much smoother than the other long flights we've taken. And by the time we got home, we were ready to keep traveling.

We ended her first year of life with 8 countries

We were on track to hit 11 countries by the time our daughter turned 1 until global conflicts led us to cancel one of our longer trips. So although we didn't technically hit our target of 10 countries, we were close.

Traveling so extensively is challenging for an infant, but we're hoping she'll thank us for all the passport stamps one day — she's got far more than other babies we know.

We're keen for her to grow up meeting people from as many different ethnicities, cultures, and countries as possible. And although she won't remember any of these trips, we certainly will.

These travels were hard at times, and some parts of them were pure chaos, but we'd do it all again. Perhaps we'll be able to see 20 countries with her by the time she's 2.

I expect we'll do less long-haul travel between the ages of 1 and 3, though, since our daughter is running around a lot more. It's hard to imagine trying to contain her for any longer than a couple of hours.

That said, we already plan to fly to St. Lucia in economy in January and to travel to Australia for a wedding in 2028. So if anyone has any tips on getting through flights with toddlers, I'm all ears.

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Sam Shead

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Sam was a Senior Technology Reporter for Business Insider UK.Previously he worked as Startups and Innovation Editor for Techworld, based in London, and The Daily Mail. His writing has also appeared in The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, City A.M., and elsewhere. He has also appeared on the BBC, Sky News, Al Jazeera, Channel 5, Reuters TV, and spoken on Russia Today and Shares Radio. In 2015, Sam was shortlisted for Technology Journalist of the Year by the UK Tech Awards and in 2016 Sam was nominated as one of the 30 young journalists to watch by MHP Communications.Follow Sam on Twitter: @sam_l_shead 

• Travel
• Essay

Still untitled, the documentary follows Panamanian Jaime Alemán, a lawyer, diplomat, businessman and one of the world’s most accomplished travelers.

Alemán is the first human in history to have completed the Triple Grand Slam of Travel, visiting all 193 countries recognized by the United Nations, trekking to both the North and South Poles and traveling to space. He became the first Panamanian to reach space when he flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-32 suborbital mission last year. Now 72, he´s been travelling since he was 18.

Junge, who last collaborated with Benaim on his 2026 docu “Tropical Paradise,” expressed delight to be working with Benaim again. “Jaime Alemán is a larger-than-life character, and his extraordinary journey offers a fascinating glimpse into what happens when a passion for exploring the world (and beyond) is taken to its ultimate extreme,” he said. “Tropical Paradise” won the Audience Award at the Panama Film Festival last April.

Added Benaim: “At first glance, it’s an extraordinary travel story: one man, all 193 countries, the poles, space and the journeys still to come. But for me, that’s just the vehicle. The real journey is inward. It’s about Jaime’s psyche, his vulnerability, his fears (and how he overcomes them), and what drives someone to keep moving. Because the story is still unfolding, the filmmaking itself becomes part of that search. As we follow Jaime around the world, we’re also asking a universal question: what gives a life purpose?”

Benaim and his crew will follow Aleman as he sets out on what may be his most extraordinary expedition yet: a journey to one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth, Tristan Da Cunha, which can be reached on a five-day voyage over rough seas.

“We already shot in the Azores, Brazil, Toronto and Panama, and will be shooting shortly in Bangkok, Bhutan and Pakistan,” Benaim told Variety who added that the trip to Tristan da Cunha, which lies about 1,500 miles west of Cape Town, South Africa, is slated for April next year.

Alemán is also aiming to visit the coldest and hottest places on earth, Oymyakon and Death Valley, respectively, according to Benaim. “In parallel, his daughter Sofi is going after the 193 countries, and Jaime is supporting her efforts. When she finishes them, they will be the first father/daughter team in history to have been to all 193 countries.”

In essence, the docu, produced by Benaim’s Apertura Films, aims to combine large-scale expedition filmmaking with intimate access to its subject, offering both a visually ambitious adventure and a philosophical portrait of a man who refuses to believe that any journey is ever truly complete.

Air quality advisories. A spike in emergency room visits for asthma.

Now, a University at Buffalo study has identified another consequence: fewer sightings of dozens of bird species across the Empire State.

In a study published earlier this month in Biodiversity and Conservation, researchers found that 40 different bird species were less likely to be observed in New York as levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air increased during recent breeding seasons. The analysis included the 2023 season that overlapped with Canada's worst wildfire season on record.

"Our results show a link between wildfire smoke and the probability of observing particular bird species," says corresponding author Festus Adegbola, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography within the UB College of Arts and Sciences. "Wildfire smoke is often underexplored when monitoring biodiversity. Failing to account for air quality may bias models of species distribution and abundance."

The researchers first analyzed PM2.5 levels, a key marker of wildfire smoke, during New York's 2021–2023 breeding seasons. The highest concentrations occurred in 2023, when smoke from Canada's historic wildfires degraded air quality across New York throughout June and July. PM2.5 levels exceeded World Health Organization guidelines on multiple occasions, at times reaching eight times the recommended limit.

The researchers then matched the PM2.5 data with nearly 99,000 birdwatching checklists submitted to Cornell University's eBird database. The citizen science project, run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, allows birdwatchers to record the birds they observe, creating one of the world's largest collections of bird observations.

Because the observations come from birdwatchers with varying levels of experience, the UB researchers used rigorous data filtering and statistical methods to ensure reliable results.

In all, they analyzed 84 different bird species across nearly 99,000 eBird checklists collected throughout New York during the three recent breeding seasons.

Nearly half of the species studied were less likely to be observed when PM2.5 rose. These included many migratory forest songbirds, such as warblers, thrushes and vireos.

"It's possible that smoky conditions changed the birds' behavior—singing and moving less, spending more time in dense forest canopy—and therefore made them harder to detect," Adegbola says.

However, 15 species were more likely to be observed as PM2.5 levels rose, while another 29 showed no significant change in how likely they were to be observed. These included many aerial insectivores and some wetland-associated birds.

That doesn't necessarily mean wildfire smoke benefited those birds.

"These species often occupy more open environments than forest songbirds, so it's possible their increased sightings had more to do with where birdwatchers chose to observe during smoky conditions than how the birds themselves responded," says co-author Adam Wilson, Ph.D., associate professor of geography and Adegbola's adviser.

The findings suggest that fewer bird sightings during smoky periods don't necessarily mean there are fewer birds—they may simply be harder to detect. Understanding that distinction is crucial for biodiversity monitoring so that temporary declines in detectability aren't mistaken for true population declines.

"Still, as climate change continues to intensify wildfires, it's crucial we understand how birds will be affected by increased smoke pollution," Wilson says. "This study is hopefully a first step to better understanding how species respond to wildfire smoke exposure."

Other co-authors include Stuart Evans, Ph.D., assistant professor of geography, and Olivia Sanderfoot, Ph.D., a research scientist with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Publication details

Festus O. Adegbola et al, Wildfire smoke alters observations of 65% of breeding bird species in New York State, Biodiversity and Conservation (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s10531-026-03406-9

Who's behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: Canadian wildfire smoke linked to fewer bird sightings in New York State (2026, July 17) retrieved 17 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-canadian-wildfire-linked-bird-sightings.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. %!s()