Summer extremes of 2018 linked to stalled waves in jet stream
The summer of 2018 brought a series of extreme weather events that occurred almost simultaneously around the Northern Hemisphere - from record-breaking heatwaves and droughts in North America and Western Europe, to torrential rainfalls and floods in Southeastern Europe and Japan.
A new study by scientists from NCAS, the University of Oxford, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam shows that these extreme weather events had something in common. The scientists identified a stalled wave pattern of the jet stream, which made weather conditions more persistent and extreme in the affected regions - regions which constitute major crop production sites and places where the majority of people live in the Northern Hemisphere.
The same pattern also occurred during European heatwaves in 2015, 2006 and 2003, which rank among the most extreme heatwaves ever recorded. In recent years, a clear increase in these patterns has been observed. The identified jet stream wave pattern also provides an opportunity for improving the early-prediction of future extreme weather events for vulnerable regions in the Northern Hemisphere.
NCAS Management Board - two non-executive directors vacancies
NCAS is a world leading research centre dedicated to the advancement of atmospheric science, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. We carry out research in air pollution, climate and high-impact weather, and long-term global changes in atmospheric composition and climate, and provide the UK community with state-of-the-art technologies for observing and modelling the atmosphere.
We are looking to appoint two non-executive directors to the NCAS Management Board. The Board provides the top level strategy and oversight of the operation of NCAS. As a non-executive director, you will provide constructive challenge, thoughtful insight, and independent scrutiny to help the Board achieve its mission to be a world-leading research centre dedicated to the advancement of atmospheric science.
UK's first Earth system model launched
A team of scientists led by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science have completed building the UK’s first Earth system model.
An Earth system model is a complex computer simulation of the earth, including its atmosphere, land, ice and oceans. Traditionally, computer models have focused on single aspects of the global climate, but new models are able to integrate multiple environmental factors.
By providing a representation of the planet that draws on all environmental science disciplines, the Earth system model developed by the UKESM project will transform the UK’s capacity for predicting future climate change.