Fastest-accepting environmental science journals 2026

126 environmental science journals ranked by the median number of days from submission to acceptance, measured from the dates publishers deposit in PubMed for articles published 2024–2025. The interval includes peer review and revisions.

Journals: 126
Typical median: 127 d
Under 60 days: 7
Over 180 days: 19

Read this before using the ranking

Accepted papers only. Rejected manuscripts never receive an acceptance date, so these figures say nothing about desk-rejection speed, rejection rates or your chance of acceptance.
Not the time to a first decision. The interval runs from the “received” date to the “accepted” date the publisher deposits in PubMed. It includes editorial handling, peer review, every round of revision and the time authors spent revising.
Journals record dates differently. Some reset the received date when a revised manuscript arrives, and manuscripts transferred from another journal may keep or lose their earlier dates. Short medians are therefore not always comparable with long ones.
Past timelines are not a promise. Each figure comes from up to 100 recent articles published 2024–2025. Article types, special issues, editors and workload all change, and your paper may take much longer or much less time.
Fast is not the same as good. Check the journal’s scope, indexing, peer-review policy and editorial board before submitting. An unusually quick acceptance can be a warning sign of light peer review.

Journal Metrics is independent and is not affiliated with any journal or publisher listed. The figures are for information only, may contain errors and change as PubMed records are updated. Confirm current timelines on the journal’s own website. See how to spot predatory journals.

Environmental Science journals by median days from submission to acceptance

Environmental Science journals ranked by median days from submission to acceptance in PubMed
Rank	Journal	Median days	Middle half	Articles	Quartile	2026 score
1	Toxics	32	26–39	100	Q1	5.2
2	Marine Genomics	42	28–55	60	Q3	0.9
3	Journal of Xenobiotics	50	38–71	100	Q1	5.8
4	Environmental Science & Technology Letters	51	34–65	64	Q1	5.8
5	JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY	56	39–81	95	Q1	4.1
6	TOXICOLOGY	57	45–80	99	Q1	5.8
7	JOURNAL OF APPLIED TOXICOLOGY	59	40–96	100	Q2	1.9
8	Arhiv za Higijenu Rada i Toksikologiju-Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology	62	31–122	67	Q3	0.9
9	Water Research X	66	49–88	97	Q2	3.6
10	BIOLOGICAL TRACE ELEMENT RESEARCH	68	52–92	100	Q2	3.3
11	Data in Brief	69	47–111	100	Q2	2.5
12	CURRENT OPINION IN MICROBIOLOGY	70	49–110	94	Q1	6.9
13	Environmental Science-Atmospheres	72	62–124	25	Q2	2.0
14	Frontiers in Microbiology	73	50–93	100	Q1	5.2
15	REPRODUCTIVE TOXICOLOGY	77	57–96	100	Q1	3.2
15	TOXICOLOGY AND APPLIED PHARMACOLOGY	77	53–106	100	Q1	3.0
17	BIODEGRADATION	78	48–109	100	Q1	3.2
18	SYSTEMATIC PARASITOLOGY	79	54–136	100	Q2	1.5
19	COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY	80	52–110	100	Q2	2.3
20	INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY	82	67–104	97	Q2	2.2
20	JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGICAL METHODS	82	60–117	100	Q2	1.7
22	AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY	84	62–118	100	Q1	4.5
23	JOURNAL OF BASIC MICROBIOLOGY	85	70–109	100	Q1	3.1
24	RSC Sustainability	88	74–111	24	Q1	6.8
25	ACS ES&T Engineering	90	82–108	30	Q1	5.7
25	WATER RESEARCH	90	63–112	100	Q1	12.5
25	Environment & Health	90	75–116	100	Q2	4.1
25	JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY	90	55–132	100	Q2	1.2
25	Environmental Health Insights	90	63–149	99	Q1	4.9
30	ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH	91	65–135	98	Q1	7.7
31	Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology	95	63–135	99	Q2	3.6
32	ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION	97	71–137	100	Q1	7.4
33	REVIEWS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH	98	61–130	87	Q2	3.1
33	NanoImpact	98	77–131	100	Q1	6.4
35	COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY C-TOXICOLOGY & PHARMACOLOGY	99	73–123	100	Q1	3.1
35	EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PROTISTOLOGY	99	68–139	94	Q1	2.5
37	JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS	100	77–123	100	Q1	10.0
37	ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH	100	70–138	100	Q1	4.5
39	Toxicological Research	102	80–143	99	Q1	3.1
39	MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH	102	73–150	100	Q1	2.9
41	Marine Pollution Bulletin	103	71–137	100	Q1	5.0
42	Environmental Epidemiology	105	81–135	100	Q2	3.0
42	Environmental Health	105	69–154	100	Q1	5.9
44	FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS	106	68–166	100	Q2	1.8
45	MethodsX	107	68–138	98	Q1	3.9
45	MUTATION RESEARCH-GENETIC TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS	107	75–150	100	Q3	2.5
45	Waste Management	107	83–156	100	Q1	7.4
48	ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY	108	90–155	100	Q1	6.7
49	Journal of Environmental Management	109	81–155	100	Q1	9.2
49	WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY	109	80–165	100	Q1	4.0
51	Innovation	110	78–167	100	Q1	9.4
52	Plant	112	75–149	100	Q2	1.7
53	Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology	114	73–145	100	Q1	1.9
54	Current Research in Toxicology	116	81–154	100	Q1	4.5
55	Journal of Environmental Sciences	117	96–139	100	Q1	4.0
56	ACS ES&T Water	123	84–156	89	Q1	4.2
57	mLife	125	90–169	99	Q1	4.5
57	TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION	125	73–178	100	Q1	7.8
57	WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH	125	88–192	100	Q2	2.9
57	JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY	125	96–197	100	Q2	1.6
61	ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL	126	97–165	100	Q1	10.5
61	ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY	126	86–177	98	Q2	4.2
63	INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYGIENE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH	127	96–153	100	Q2	3.5
64	HARMFUL ALGAE	128	97–164	100	Q1	3.7
65	TOXICOLOGY LETTERS	130	102–176	100	Q4	0.6
66	Integrative Zoology	132	94–173	93	Q2	2.1
67	ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT	134	103–175	100	Q1	4.1
67	TREE PHYSIOLOGY	134	99–200	100	Q1	3.2
69	BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY	135	88–192	97	Q3	2.0
70	GeoHealth	136	104–207	100	Q2	3.0
71	Environmental Research Letters	137	81–162	23	Q1	4.4
72	GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY	138	97–185	100	Q1	10.3
73	Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management	140	93–200	92	Q2	2.4
74	Ecology and Evolution	142	105–182	100	Q1	2.4
75	FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY	144	101–191	100	Q1	5.4
76	Cambridge Prisms-Coastal Futures	146	109–194	45	Q1	2.6
76	ISME Communications	146	97–208	100	Q1	4.4
78	ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY	147	114–179	100	Q3	2.4
78	npj Climate Action	147	125–187	23	Q1	5.4
80	Conservation Physiology	148	89–230	99	Q1	2.8
81	LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY	149	112–200	42	Q1	5.0
81	Eco-Environment & Health	149	107–206	100	Q1	9.9
83	FEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS	151	94–209	94	Q1	13.3
84	JOURNAL OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY	152	114–245	100	Q1	3.8
85	Toxicology Research	153	103–203	100	Q2	3.1
86	npj Biodiversity	155	115–190	63	Q1	7.1
86	ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT	155	126–206	100	Q1	2.8
86	Lancet Planetary Health	155	89–238	89	Q1	11.0
89	JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH	156	94–219	46	Q2	1.8
89	Scientific Data	156	112–221	100	Q1	5.4
91	Plant Phenomics	160	115–197	100	Q1	7.2
92	PeerJ	163	110–199	100	Q1	3.2
93	Environmental Evidence	164	122–212	49	Q1	5.5
93	JOURNAL OF WATER AND HEALTH	164	98–230	96	Q2	3.2
95	Integrative Organismal Biology	165	102–223	74	Q2	2.0
96	JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY	166	122–219	100	Q2	2.4
96	Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A-Ecological and Integrative Physiology	166	119–226	99	Q2	1.6
96	Annals of Work Exposures and Health	166	122–252	93	Q3	0.7
99	BMC Zoology	169	122–224	57	Q2	1.9
100	Environmental Microbiology Reports	170	133–201	100	Q1	3.2

Median days: half of the journal’s accepted articles took less time from submission to acceptance and half took more. Middle half: the 25th to 75th percentile. Articles: how many recent PubMed articles had both dates. Journals with the same rounded median share a rank.

Median under 30 days. Very short intervals usually reflect how a journal records its dates (for example a new received date after revision) or invited and fast-track article types such as reviews and editorials, not unusually quick peer review. Check the journal’s peer-review policy before reading anything into them.

Showing the 100 fastest of 126 environmental science journals. Every journal’s figure is on its own page and in the acceptance times dataset.

Questions about environmental science journal acceptance times

Which environmental science journals accept papers fastest?

Among the 126 environmental science journals with enough PubMed dates, the shortest median times from submission to acceptance (leaving out medians under 30 days, which usually reflect how dates are recorded) are Toxics (32 days), Marine Genomics (42 days), Journal of Xenobiotics (50 days), Environmental Science & Technology Letters (51 days), JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY (56 days). These medians include peer review and revisions, and cover accepted papers only.

How long does a environmental science journal take to accept a paper?

The typical environmental science journal on this page has a median of 127 days from submission to acceptance. 7 of 126 journals have a median under 60 days and 19 take more than 180 days.

Is this the peer review time?

No. PubMed records when a manuscript was received and when it was accepted, not the individual review stages. The interval includes editorial handling, peer review, revisions and the time authors spent revising, so it is longer than the time to a first decision. For first-decision times, check the journal’s own website.

Does a fast journal mean my paper is more likely to be accepted?

No. Only accepted papers have an acceptance date, so this ranking says nothing about acceptance rates or how quickly a journal rejects papers. A very fast acceptance can also be a sign of light peer review. Check the journal’s scope, indexing and peer-review policy before submitting.

About this data

Source: the received and accepted dates publishers deposit in PubMed, read through the public NCBI E-utilities for articles published 2024-01-01 to 2025-12-31, up to 100 recent articles per journal. Data checked 2026-11-03.
A journal is ranked only when at least 20 articles have both dates and at least half of the articles checked have them. Journals that do not deposit dates in PubMed, including most journals outside the life sciences, cannot be ranked here.
The ranking uses each journal’s median: half of its accepted articles took less time and half took more. The middle-half range shows the 25th to 75th percentile.
Fields come from the OpenAlex classification of each journal’s research topics. A journal joins a field when at least two of its four main topics are in it, so a journal can appear in more than one field and some classifications are imperfect.
Quartile and score are the journal’s best OpenAlex subfield quartile and its Journal Metrics Score, shown for context; they play no part in the order.

The full journal-level dataset is in the journal acceptance times study (with a CSV download). Spot an error or a journal whose dates look wrong? Tell us.

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