Category Archives: Aerosols

Why has there been a rapid increase in heat-related extremes in Western Europe since the mid-1990s?

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Buwen Dong In the last few decades, Europe has warmed not only faster than the global average, but also faster than expected from anthropogenic greenhouse gas increases (van Oldenborgh et al., 2009). With the warming, Europe experienced record-breaking heat … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Atmospheric chemistry, Climate, Climate change, Climate modelling, Environmental hazards, Numerical modelling | Leave a comment

Measuring radiation with aircraft

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Peter Hill In my career as an atmospheric scientist I’ve relied on observational data from a wide range of sources including satellite imagery, surface measurements, ground-based and satellite based radar, and aircraft measurements. Last July I had my first … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Africa, Atmospheric chemistry, Climate, Climate change, Climate modelling | Tagged DACCIWA | Leave a comment

Geoengineering – how could we detect its cooling effect?

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Eunice Lo Sulphate aerosol injection (SAI) is one of the geoengineering proposals that aim to reduce future surface temperature rise in case ambitious carbon dioxide mitigation targets cannot be met. Climate model simulations suggest that by injecting 5 Tg of sulphur dioxide gas … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Climate, Climate change, Climate modelling, Geoengineering | Tagged sulphate aerosol injection (SAI) | Leave a comment

The interaction between aerosols and clouds

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Nicolas Bellouin As part of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), I lead an activity that will provide in August new estimates of radiative forcing of climate due to changes in atmospheric composition. One of the radiative forcing mechanisms … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Climate modelling, Numerical modelling | Leave a comment

How do emissions in Abidjan affect the price of chocolate in the UK?

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Peter Hill The majority of the cocoa beans required to supply the world’s ever increasing demand for chocolate come from southern West Africa. Unfortunately, the volume produced, and consequently the cost of cocoa beans, is heavily dependent on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Climate change, Monsoons | Tagged West African Monsoon | Leave a comment

Ah, the sweet smell of rain …

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Stephen Burt

By Ellie Highwood Despite all the rain of the past winter, there is something about rain that I have missed – its perfume. As we head towards spring, with daffodils all around us already, I am looking forward to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Atmospheric chemistry, Weather | Tagged 'smell of rain', petrichor | Leave a comment

Volcanoes as rain magnets

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Stephen Burt

By Geoff Wadge When we have a very large volcanic eruption (as for example Mt Pinatubo in 1991) it gets global news coverage, not least because of its potential to perturb the climate. Whether smaller eruptions get widely noticed usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Climate, Environmental hazards, Volcanoes, Weather | Leave a comment

Climate change and the Indian monsoon: another emissions problem

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Stephen Burt

By Andy Turner I wrote a year or so ago about the forecast for the (then) forthcoming summer monsoon season. India was worried about the possible effect of a predicted El Niño on the rainfall total; El Niño is normally associated … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Climate, Climate change, Monsoons | Tagged aerosols, monsoon | Leave a comment