Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere hit new record highs in 2022, with no end in sight to the rising trend, according to this new report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). This Bulletin represents the latest analysis of observations from the WMO GAW Programme. It shows globally averaged surface …
Tropical cyclones over the Arabian Sea in the pre-monsoon season (May–June) have intensified since 1997 owing to significant reductions in storm-ambient vertical wind shear (VWS) in the troposphere; these reductions have decreased on average by about 3 m s−1 from the pre-1997 epoch (1979–1997) to the recent epoch (1998–2010)1. The …
Analysis of observations on six continents reveals a global preference for afternoon rain to fall on locally drier soils—contrary to the predictions of large-scale climate models, and suggesting that such models may exaggerate the occurrence of droughts.
August 2012 was the fourth-warmest August globally since 1880 and the 330th consecutive month in which temperatures worldwide were above the 20th-century average, the US National Climatic Data Center said. The average temperature on land and over the ocean was 61.2 degrees Fahrenheit (16.2 Celsius), 1.1 degree above the century’s …
Biomass burning (BB) contributes large amounts of black carbon (BC) and particulate organic matter (POM) to the atmosphere and contributes significantly to the earth’s radiation balance. BB particles can be a complicated optical system, with scattering and absorption contributions from BC, internal mixtures of BC and POM, and wavelength-dependent absorption …
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said his government will not sell even an inch of public land to promote industrial development in the State. Addressing a gathering at the Kerala Environment Convention organised by the Paristhithi Aikya Vedi here on Monday, he said there was no question of surrendering the …
SILCHAR: The exploitation of environment by man is nothing new. This has reached its nadir in the 20th century all over the world. Man exploits natural resources, plants and trees but substitutes nothing to maintain balance. The environmental backlash of humanity for its own advancement and natural destruction has landed …
Transporting materials into the stratosphere that can reduce the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth could lower the effects of global climate change, a new study has found. Researchers from the US found that the basic technology to transport solar geoengineering materials in the atmosphere exists and could be assembled …
Hydrological processes in the humid tropics differ from other regions in having greater energy inputs and faster rates of change. In this Review it is argued that understanding of the key hydrological interactions there remains limited, and a vision of future research designed to address these shortcomings is outlined.
Glacial melting in the Tibetan Plateau affects the water resources of millions of people. This study finds that—partly owing to changes in atmospheric circulations and precipitation patterns—the most intensive glacier shrinkage is in the Himalayan region, whereas glacial retreat in the Pamir Plateau region is less apparent.
China said Thursday it will take more active steps to enhance weather modification, in a bid to better serve agricultural production and disaster relief work. The country aims to build a relatively complete weather modification system by 2020 and make significant improvements in providing basic guarantees and security management, according …
The observed presence of water vapor convectively injected deep into the stratosphere over the United States can fundamentally change the catalytic chlorine/bromine free-radical chemistry of the lower stratosphere by shifting total available inorganic chlorine into the catalytically active free-radical form, ClO. This chemical shift markedly affects total ozone loss rates …
The Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) has remained remarkably stable during the last 140 years. The ISMR has varied between 70% and 120% of the long-term average of about 85 cm. Monsoon seasons with ISMR of less than 90% of the average are considered to be droughts, whereas those with …
Atmospheric oxidation is a key phenomenon that connects atmospheric chemistry with globally challenging environmental issues, such as climate change, stratospheric ozone loss, acidification of soils and water, and health effects of air quality. Ozone, the hydroxyl radical and the nitrate radical are generally considered to be the dominant oxidants that …
A model of the effects of climate change on African vegetation from 1850 to 2100 predicts increases in woody plant cover, but considerable heterogeneity in the timing of these shifts dampens the shock that these changes in land-surface properties may represent to the Earth system.
Catastrophic forest fires — spurred by hot and dry weather — have ravaged vast areas of Siberia, and ruined the region’s ecosystem, said Russian ecologists. Fires have destroyed 100,000 sq km of forests across Russia — an area bigger than Bihar — since the start of the summer season this …
The observed presence of water vapor convectively injected deep into the stratosphere over the United States fundamentally changes the catalytic chlorine/bromine free radical chemistry of the lower stratosphere by shifting total available inorganic chlorine into the catalytically active free-radical form, ClO. This chemical shift markedly affects total ozone loss rates …
Limitations in current capabilities to constrain aerosols adversely impact atmospheric simulations. Typically, aerosol burdens within models are constrained employing satellite aerosol optical properties, which are not available under cloudy conditions. Here we set the first steps to overcome the long-standing limitation that aerosols cannot be constrained using satellite remote sensing …
Global carbon dioxide emissions rose 3 percent to 34 billion tonnes in 2011, according to a new EU report, undermining a U.N. goal to limit the rise in global average temperatures to 2C above industrial levels by 2050. According to the report, published Wednesday by the European Commission's Joint Research …
Worried about the low water levels in the lakes, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is considering cloud seeding in catchment areas in next month as an option. However, a similar experiment carried out by the BMC in 2009 with an expenditure of over Rs 8 crore yielded no results. Cloud …
Atmospheric models generally assume that aerosol particles are in equilibrium with the surrounding gas phase. However, recent observations that secondary organic aerosols can exist in a glassy state have highlighted the need to more fully understand the kinetic limitations that may control water partitioning in ambient particles. Here, we explore …
