Clearing up cloudy climate predictions
UK scientists take to the skies as part of a major international research campaign to better understand the behaviour of clouds and their role in climate change.
Trade-wind cumulus clouds play an important role in the Earth's climate system. They can influence how heat is circulated in the atmosphere and they reflect sunlight away from the Earth's surface.
But the complexity of clouds – their makeup, behaviour and how they react to global warming – makes it difficult for them to be accurately represented in climate change models.
Confirmation that 2019 concludes warmest decade on record
The annual global temperature figures for 2019 confirm that the past decade was the warmest on record.
Multiple data sets suggests that 2019, a year without a strong classical El Niño, is the second warmest year for annual global temperatures in records that begin in 1850. Only 2016 has been warmer, a year when temperatures were boosted by a significant El Niño.
Climate scientist Ed Hawkins appointed MBE
NCAS’ Professor Ed Hawkins, known for creating art that defines our warming world, has been recognised in the New Year’s Honours list for his services to climate science and science communication.