A new white paper highlights outcomes from the first annual U.S. Climate Modeling Summit. The Summit brought together leadership from the country’s six premier climate modeling centers to strategize around priorities of national interest—from experimental efforts that move science forward to forecasts and projections that inform on-the-ground decisions.
Posted
Apr 12, 2015Physical Climate
A new synthesis published in Nature suggests that thawing Arctic permafrost will release greenhouse gases gradually, rather than in a sudden "bomb". The gradual rate of these natural emissions may give society more time to adapt to their effects, but they remain a challenge for climate mitigation.
Posted
Oct 10, 2014Physical Climate
A new report investigates the causes of extreme weather and climate events that occurred around the world in 2013, finding evidence for both human and natural influences.
Posted
Aug 21, 2014Physical Climate
New NASA research shows that Earth's atmosphere contains an unexpectedly large amount of carbon tetrachloride (CC14), an ozone-depleting chemical that was banned worldwide decades ago. According to the study, global emissions of CCl4 average 39 kilotons per year—approximately 30 percent of peak emissions prior to its banning.
Posted
Jun 25, 2014Physical Climate
Both NASA and NOAA have ranked May 2014 as the planet’s hottest May since records began in 1880. UPDATE: Since this article was published, June 2014, August 2014, September 2014, and October 2014 have also set records for monthly average temperatures.
Posted
May 20, 2014Physical Climate
A NOAA-led study finds that over the past 30 years, the location where tropical cyclones reach maximum intensity has been shifting toward the poles in both the northern and southern hemispheres at a rate of about 35 miles, or one-half degree of latitude, per decade.
Posted
Jul 30, 2013Physical Climate
The United States will be a much hotter place, precipitation patterns will shift, and climate extremes will increase by the end of the 21st century, according to reports released in January 2013 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in support of the National Climate Assessment (NCA).
Posted
May 15, 2013Physical Climate
On May 9, 2013, the daily mean concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surpassed 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time since measurements began in 1958 at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.
Posted
Mar 21, 2013Physical Climate
NOAA issued the three-month U.S. Spring Outlook today, stating that odds favor above-average temperatures across much of the continental United States, including drought-stricken areas of Texas, the Southwest and the Great Plains.
Posted
Feb 6, 2013Physical Climate
The latest State of the Climate National Overview report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NOAA's National Climatic Data Center reveals that 2012 was the United States’ warmest year on record by a wide margin.