The impact of global climate change is altering the behavior and fate of pollutants across many ecosystems (Ma and Cao, 2010; Borgå et al., 2022). There are increasing amount extreme weather events including wildfires, floods, hurricanes, heatwave, and droughts (Stott, 2016; Otto, 2016). Although, these extreme changes in climate alter the fate, mobility and bioavailability of contaminants (Ulus et al., 2022; Bolan et al., 2024), there are limited research on the impact of global climate change on pollutants. Therefore, a Research Topic titled “How Climate Change Influences Pollutant Behavior and Movement in Both Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments” created for Frontiers in Environmental Science.

This Research Topic consists of five papers that highlight critical research on extreme weather events’ impacts on water quality, post-fire forest recovery, metal distribution under floods, trace element cycling shaped by human and climate pressures, and innovative solutions from activated carbon to hybrid systems tackling ash. For instance, Ulus et al. found that post-fire forest management influences soil metal mobility. The impact of wildfires extends to aquatic systems. Uzun provided crucial insights into the effectiveness of powdered activated carbon to remove 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin in waters affected by ash-derived natural organic matter. Beyond fire, extreme events such as floods and heavy rains intensify metal pollution in industrial regions, mobilizing contaminants and pushing the heaviest burdens downstream (Shen et al.). Trace element studies further reveal that copper, zinc, and cadmium biomagnify in food webs (Cheng et al.). Extreme weather events, also reshape microbial communities and degrade quality of water sources which elevates risks of waterborne diseases and mobilization of pollutants (Huang et al.).

The papers published in this Research Topic highlighted the urgency of understanding and addressing how climate change is reshaping contaminant dynamics in a changing environment. In response to these shifts, developing advanced solutions for the prevention, monitoring, and remediation of emerging pollutants is becoming essential under changing climate. In addition, this Research Topic also underlines the connected nature of climate and pollution impacts across ecosystem boundaries. This can be exemplified by two dynamics: disturbances of terrestrial ecosystems like wildfires, which have cascading effects on aquatic systems, and industrial contamination patterns which are strongly influenced by hydrological extremes.

In this context, we recommend interdisciplinary studies to integrate climate science, environmental chemistry, ecology, and even social sciences in the future research. To inform these frameworks and validate interdisciplinary models, we require long-term monitoring studies capable of capturing the evolving temporal dynamics between climate and pollution. Investment in adaptive management frameworks that can respond to changing conditions will be critical for protecting ecosystem and human health in an era of accelerating environmental change.

The studies presented in this Research Topic provides a groundwork for understanding these complex interactions. However, more research is needed to improve pollution monitoring, forecasting, and remediating as well as to develop tools for addressing future challenges driven by global climate change.