This year, like in the last few years, we are experiencing the effects of global heating in increasingly personal ways. The summer of 2022 exposed us to ever more extreme heat waves in North America, Europe, and Asia. For instance, the heat wave in India and Pakistan reached temperatures of 49C in Nawabshah, Pakistan. North …[Read More]
Off-shore wind energy plays a key role in the transition to a renewable energy (RE) system, and its usage is expected to increase in the next few decades. Nevertheless, wind energy is one of the most variable and weather-dependent RE, because of its natural dependence on the wind speed, which can vary at different time …[Read More]
Over 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by seas and oceans but in the geological past the extension of sea and land has varied several times as sea level changed over time. During the past millions of years, the oceans have cyclically retreated and expanded with the alternating of warmer and colder climatic periods …[Read More]
The NPG paper of the month for January 2023 was awarded to “Brief communication: Climate science as a social process – history, climatic determinism, Mertonian norms and post-normality” by Hans von Storch. One could argue that climate science is part of geophysics, or more precisely that part of climate science is part of geophysics. But …[Read More]
In December 2022, the United States experienced a severe cold spell, with record-low temperatures being recorded in many parts of the country. While it is natural for cold spells to occur, the question has arisen as to whether climate change is playing a role in the intensity and frequency of these events. There is ongoing debate …[Read More]
Weather extreme events in the year 2022 are really hitting the Mediterranean basin very hard. Since the beginning of the year we are observing a widespread drought, heatwaves but also severe thunderstorms. Few days before the COP meeting in Sharm-el-sheik we discussed one of the experts of Mediterranean climate, Federico Grazzini, to unveil whether these …[Read More]
On October 23 2022, a tornado outbreak occurred in France, causing extensive damages. Tornadoes in France are a relatively rare phenomenon, even more so in the second half of October. This weather phenomenon is linked to intense thunderstorms, and it is difficult to predict because it is very localized. Will global warming make this weather …[Read More]
Davide Faranda is a physicist at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). His main interests are devoted to the construction of a statistical mechanical and dynamical systems framework for the study of atmospheric motions. In particular, his works aim at the characterization of the metastable states of the atmospheric circulation with simple mathematical …[Read More]
The APS Topical Group on the Physics of Climate (APS-GPC) is excited to launch a new virtual monthly seminar series on climate physics and variability. These seminars are aimed at introducing the broader physics community (and math, engineering, and other communities) to the fundamentals of climate science as well as cutting-edge research and open questions …[Read More]
Too hot, Too soon: the thermometer has reached unprecedented temperature for a month of June in France, with the 40°C mark crossed by Friday June 17 in part of France. The IPCC AR6 report now clearly states that the probability of heatwave events such as this one has increased by a factor 3 to 5 …[Read More]
