In many summers, a normal monsoon is forecast by the India Meteorological Department using their statistical model. 2012 was no different, and in the absence of large external drivers such as ENSO or anomalous snow cover over the Himalaya, the IMD early-stage forecast issued in April (model described here) suggesting that the chance of getting […]

Whilst Reading plunged into a gloomy autumnal daze, a group of researchers namely Geoff Wadge, Antonio Costa and Thomas Webb, from the Department of Meteorology decided to replace their warm coats with T-shirts, their wellies with flip-flops and don excessive amounts of suncream, heading for the tiny island of Montserrat in the West Indies (figure […]

The record minimum Arctic sea ice extent this year caused enormous public and media attention (link). The reducing ice cover puts at risk the way of life of northern communities, threatens polar bears and other aspects of Arctic ecosystems and also creates controversial opportunities for the energy and shipping industries. Combined with this the decline […]