What is it about?
Almost all of our studies of the human impacts on clouds have been carried out during the day - primarily because they are much easier to see. By comparing cloud amount changes during both day and night, we show that the human influence is actually much larger at night.
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Photo by Vikram Nair on Unsplash
Why is it important?
The Earth is a very cloudy place. The clouds in this study are an important control over how much sunlight the Earth reflects back into space, keeping the Earth cool. This means that a small change in the amount or properties of clouds can have a large impact on the climate. To understand how our climate is changing, we rely heavily on climate models. If we are to trust climate models, we need to know that the clouds in climate models work in the same way as those in the real atmosphere - they are right for the right reasons. This means they have to properly simulate both the daytime and the nighttime human impacts on clouds.
Perspectives
This research demonstrates the necessity in considering both day and nighttime cloud behaviour in order to build up a complete picture of cloud processes. This is of particular importance for reducing uncertainty in the aerosol impact on clouds and should also be carefully considered in any future intentional cloud modification projects.
Geoffrey Pugsley
Imperial College London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Cloud fraction response to aerosol driven by nighttime processes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, November 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2509949122.
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