Nip vs nasa
The trend has been linked to changing wind patterns, the expansion of the tropics and storm systems shifting toward the North and South poles, which are all well-documented responses to climate change.
Annual mean maps of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Total Cloud Cover (top) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Shortwave Cloud Radiative Effect (bottom) for the 2001–2024 period. Credit: Geophysical Research Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1029/2025GL114882
Earth's cloud cover is rapidly shrinking and contributing to record-breaking temperatures, according to new research involving the Monash-led Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for 21st Century Weather.
The research, led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and published in Geophysical Research Letters, analyzed satellite observations to find between 1.5% and 3% of the world's storm cloud zones have been contracting each decade in the past 24 years.
The trend has been linked to changing wind patterns, the expansion of the tropics and storm systems shifting toward the North and South poles, which are all well-documented responses to climate change.
With fewer clouds reflecting sunlight back into space to keep the planet cool, the warming effect of greenhouse gas emissions is being amplified and driving up global temperatures.
It's an important piece in the puzzle of understanding the extraordinary recent warming we observed, and a wake-up call for urgent climate action."
Being able to more accurately predict where clouds form and how much sunlight they reflect will be critical to anticipating the speed and scale of future warming.
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-rapid-cloud-loss-contributing-temperatures.html
