News & Features

The hydroxyl radical (OH) molecule has a short lifespan but a long impact. It reacts with with harmful gases and helps clean Earth’s atmosphere. A new study examines OH changes in a warming climate.

Days with the most prominent Saharan dust correlated with fewer thunderstorms in the Atlantic and less rainfall across Puerto Rico, a pattern that has become more frequent over the past 40 years.

At ground level, the mobile lab can often measure emissions closer to the fire source, and it can be used at night when flying an aircraft near a wildfire may be hazardous. Lab results show that wildfire emissions vary based on whether the fire is flaming or smoldering.

Two new projects will provide useful observations to enhance monitoring and modeling of precipitation events. Each one will expand existing analysis data.

The wind-driven Marshall Fire erupted into the most costly wildfire in Colorado history on December 30, 2021, evolving in one hour from a grass fire into a suburban firestorm that destroyed 1,084 homes and seven commercial properties.

The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) influences atmospheric circulation and deep convection over the tropical Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean on a 30–90 day cycle. A new study finds that global warming over the past century has made the MJO more predictable.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) shapes climate, weather, and marine life. A cost-effective method can estimate the AMOC at a 22.5°S, a critical location at the edges of the South Atlantic subtropical gyre.

In winter, extratropical cyclones (ETCs) bring risky weather: heavy rain and snow, and strong winds. New research will employ advanced climate models to predict how ETCs might change in the future.

As COP28 concludes, NOAA provides highlights observations since the last major climate agreement was signed in 2015. Known as the Paris Agreement, it was adopted by 196 countries including the United States at COP25 in Paris.

Projected end-of-21st-century increases in central tropical Pacific dust and iron deposition strengthen with increasing emissions/radiative forcing, and are aligned with projected soil moisture decreases in adjacent land areas and precipitation increases over the equatorial Pacific.