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 when referring to ”processes” in ”Nonlinear Processes in Geo ...[Read More]
The Great Cold Debate: Is Climate Change to Blame for Extreme Cold Spells?
Average near-surface temperatures showing the extended cold spell over North America on December 24th 2022.
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 among scientists about the relationship between climate change and ...[Read More]
NP Interview: Federico Grazzini on Climate Change casts shadows on the present and the future of the Mediterranean Basin
Monthly mean sea surface temperature averaged over western and central Mediterranean sea [0E - 22E], months April - November. The blue line corresponds to the recent climatology 1991-2020 with the shading respectively showing 1,2,3 standard deviations of the monthly averages from the mean. Symbols are showing this year values and, for comparison with a previous strongest marine heat wave, the values recorded in 2003.
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 events can be linked to climate change. Fe ...[Read More]
How climate change can possibly increase the intensity of tornadoes in Europe
The tornado that devastated Nord-Pas-de-Calais on Sunday 23 October 2022. ©Wouter van Bernebeek /Twitter @StormchaserNL
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 more frequent or intense? A thundercloud that grows visib ...[Read More]