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Wildfire smoke in North America could be creating clouds over Europe

16 June 2023

Particles from wildfire smoke may cause the formation of cirrus clouds high in the atmosphere far away from the location of the fires

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/hurricane-florence-viewed-from-the-space-station Astronaut Ricky Arnold, from aboard the International Space Station, shared this image of Hurricane Florence on Sept. 10, taken as the orbiting laboratory flew over the massive storm

How AI is shifting the limits of knowledge imposed by complexity

10 January 2023

From weather to the structure of proteins, some things are predictable in theory, but too complex to figure out in practice. But the rise of artificial intelligence is changing that fast

A vehicle travels along a flooded street after

How California can capture stormwater to fight off the drought

6 January 2023

With atmospheric rivers drenching the US west coast, researchers are testing methods to capture as much stormwater as possible to replenish depleted aquifers

A researcher stands an area of bushes and tall dry grass in the Kalahari region of southern Africa, looking up at a wooden pole roughly 3 to 4 meters tall. The pole is equipped with multiple sensors for measuring weather conditions.

COP27: Forecasting overhaul may reduce extreme weather hazards

18 November 2022

A UN program to revamp weather forecasting in lower-income countries could improve global climate models and help people prepare for extreme weather events

Landslides can be triggered by small changes in atmospheric pressure

16 November 2022

We knew earthquakes and heavy rain could initiate landslides, but now it seems alterations in atmospheric pressure can do it too if combined with certain conditions on the ground

Lightning bolts over the Las Vegas skyline

Firing a laser into the sky can redirect lightning’s path

22 July 2022

A laser fired from a tower on a mountain seems to have redirected lightning in the sky and could be used to make storm clouds discharge lightning safely

Mandatory Credit: Photo by SpaceX/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock (10664346i) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley onboard. NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission is the first launch with astronauts of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX Demo-2 Historic Manned Launch, Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. - 30 May 2020

Emissions from rocket launches could affect Earth's weather systems

15 June 2022

Increasing numbers of space launches will put more black carbon high in the atmosphere, where it can trap heat from the sun

Strange gamma ray flashes from lightning storms may have explanation

26 May 2022

Flashes of gamma radiation that seem to be produced by lightning storms have puzzled researchers for some time, but now there may be an explanation

Circular cities experience more rain than square or triangular ones

11 May 2022

The shape of a city can influence the amount of rainfall it gets, because circular cities are better at mixing air fronts together

Debris litters a beach after cyclone Mekunu hit Salalah, Oman in May 2018

Ocean waves from a tropical storm could be focused like laser beams

3 March 2022

Computer modelling of cyclone Mekunu, which hit the coast of Oman in 2018, reveals that ocean currents may have focused waves from the storm into straight beams that hit the coast of India and Pakistan