The stratosphere ozone layer is slowly recovering and the recovery will be complete in most parts of the atmosphere in the coming decades, according to the latest bulletin by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The bulletin with the updated status of the ozone layer by WMO-Global Atmosphere Watch bulletin returned …
The stratosphere ozone layer is slowly recovering and the recovery will be complete in most parts of the atmosphere in the coming decades, according to the latest bulletin by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The bulletin with the updated status of the ozone layer by WMO-Global Atmosphere Watch bulletin returned …
Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) – a speculative group of technologies to cool the Earth is being explored as climate action lags – requires far more research into its risks and benefits before any consideration for potential deployment, according to an Expert Panel convened by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). …
This study analyses the Montreal Protocol as a potential instrument and forum for the global governance of solar radiation management (SRM) research. It creates an analytical framework to examine the objectives, institutional capacity, and jurisdiction of the Montreal Protocol to determine the extent to which it can govern SRM research. …
This First Report of the WMO Research Board COVID-19 Task Team, provides an assessment of the state of knowledge of meteorological and air quality (MAQ) factors influencing the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report critically appraises peer reviewed studies on the role of MAQ factors (Temperature, Humidity, Solar …
Water temperature is critical for the ecology of lakes. However, the ability to predict its spatial and seasonal variation is constrained by the lack of a thermal classification system. Here we define lake thermal regions using objective analysis of seasonal surface temperature dynamics from satellite observations. Nine lake thermal regions …
This paper assessed the variability and projected trends of solar irradiance and temperature in the East of Burundi. Observed temperature from meteorological stations and the MERRA-2 data set provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center are used over the historical period 1976–2005. In addition, solar irradiance data provided by SoDa database …
Clouds strongly modulate regional radiation balance and their evolution is profoundly influenced by circulations. This study uses 2001–16 satellite and reanalysis data together with regional model simulations to investigate the spring shortwave cloud radiative effect (SWCRE) and the associated circulations over southeastern China (SEC). Strong SWCRE, up to 2110 W …
India plans to add 100 GW of solar electric power generation by 2022 to an existing system (with an installed capacity of close to 330 GW, as on January 2018, from all sources). Selection of sites for such a large infrastructure investment is definitely an important decision. Here, examine the …
The Sun’s activity cycle governs the radiation, particle and magnetic flux in the heliosphere creating hazardous space weather. Decadal-scale variations define space climate and force the Earth’s atmosphere. However, predicting the solar cycle is challenging. Current understanding indicates a short window for prediction best achieved at previous cycle minima. Utilizing …
Large new study crunches decades of IMD data to unpack patterns of warming — and some cooling — across India, points to impact on agriculture in a country with 17.5 per cent of world’s population but only 2.4 per cent of its area. A new study that used comprehensive surface …
Plants are exposed to numerous DNA-damaging stresses including the exposure to ultraviolet (UV) component of solar radiation. They employ nucleotide excision repair to remove DNA-bulky adducts and to help eliminate UV-induced DNA lesions, so as to maintain their genome integrity and their fitness. Here, we generated genome-wide single-nucleotide resolution excision …
Cool materials with higher solar reflectance compared with conventional materials of the same color are widely used to maintain cooler urban fabrics when exposed to solar irradiation and to mitigate the Urban Heat Island (UHI). Photo-catalytic coatings are also useful to reduce air pollutants. Many studies related to these topics …
A very unusual dust plume generated from dust-storm activities over the Arabian Peninsula and Southwest Asia affected the north-west region of India between March 20 and 23, 2012, causing significant reductions in air quality and consequently changes in meteorological parameters. Ground based measurements of aerosol optical depth at 500 nm …
As urban overheating is increasing, there is a strong public interest towards mitigation strategies to enhance comfortable urban spaces, for their role in supporting urban metabolism and social life. The study presents an assessment of the existing thermal comfort and usage of San Silvestro Square in Rome during the summer, …
The ozone layer - which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation - is recovering at the poles, but unexpected decreases in part of the atmosphere may be preventing recovery at lower latitudes. Global ozone has been declining since the 1970s owing to certain man-made chemicals. Since these were banned, parts …
Clouds’ efficiency at reflecting solar radiation and trapping the terrestrial radiation is strongly modulated by the diurnal cycle of clouds (DCC). Much attention has been paid to mean cloud properties due to their critical role in climate projections; however, less research has been devoted to the DCC. Here we quantify …
Models show that several aspects of Earth’s top-of-atmosphere energy budget and the magnitude of projected global warming are correlated, enabling us to infer that future warming has been underestimated.
The urban heat island effect (UHI) for inner land regions was investigated using satellite data, ground observations, and simulations with an Single-Layer Urban Canopy Parameterization (SLUCP) coupled into the regional Weather Research Forecasting model (WRF, http://wrf-model.org/index.php). Specifically, using the satellite-observed surface skin temperatures (Tskin), the intensity of the UHI was …
The evolution of Earth’s climate on geological timescales is largely driven by variations in the magnitude of total solar irradiance (TSI) and changes in the greenhouse gas content of the atmosphere. Here we show that the slow ∼50 Wm−2 increase in TSI over the last ∼420 million years (an increase …
Annual and seasonal variability and trends in low cloud cover over India were analyzed for the period 1961-2010. Taking all period into account, there is a general decrease in mean low cloud cover over most regions of India, but an increase in the Indo-Gangetic plains and northeast India. Long term …
