Never has a weather forecast been more important than for D-Day in June 1944. A major new film to be released in September tells the story of how it happened. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gQw...

My resignation letter

I just resigned from NASA. It breaks my heart to leave, but I’ve become convinced the best path forward is to do the best science I can, and that can’t be here anymore. I’m still in love with the promise of those four magic letters. Ad astra per aspera, and remember: Earth is the only good planet.

Happy 100th birthday to the University of Reading! Is there a cake?

Just stunning – and heartbreaking – that there is barely a single data point across the VAST combined area of DRC, Sudan and South Sudan

Certainly not the most important issue with the current situation in the Middle East, but there is a new Iran shaped hole in our surface weather observation network. In this example, measurements of surface pressure fed into operational weather forecasts: 9th Feb (left) and 9th Mar (right)

The decision by @ukri.org to scrap the UK's flying atmospheric laboratory (FAAM) after spending >£40M on an upgrade & with zero consultation, is short sighted. FAAM has saved the UK economy more than it costs through responding to disasters. 400 scientists respond: www.thetimes.com/article/406e...

The decision by @ukri.org to scrap the UK's flying atmospheric laboratory (FAAM) after spending >£40M on an upgrade & with zero consultation, is short sighted. FAAM has saved the UK economy more than it costs through responding to disasters. 400 scientists respond: www.thetimes.com/article/406e...

Weather Rescue at Sea: Recovering Historical Weather Observations From 19th Century British Naval Ships Adding hundreds of thousands more marine weather observations from the 1860s to global datasets Teleti et al. (2026): rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Humans have become a force of nature! 20K years ago we emerged out of the ice age. Temps climbed gradually over ~12K years… then stabilized for 10K years. That’s when & why modern humans have thrived. But 150 years ago the rate of change abruptly changed… 1/

The new Reading 'warming stripes' double-decker electric bus came to campus today. The bus is painted in the local warming stripes to start climate conversations throughout the town.

The new Reading 'warming stripes' double-decker electric bus came to campus today. The bus is painted in the local warming stripes to start climate conversations throughout the town.

Statement from RMetS on removal of funding for the FAAM aircraft by NERC, urging continued dialogue between funders, government and the scientific community to reassess the long-term implications of this decision. (1/4) www.rmets.org/news/stateme...

Major threats to our well being from climate change can be avoided, or hugely reduced, by rapid action. Our Nature comment calls for a global risk assessment, effectively communicated to governments, the media and the public, to make clear what is at stake. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The UK atmospheric research aircraft (the FAAM) will cease operations in one month's time due to a research 'pivot' by UKRI... www.ukri.org/news/nerc-pi...

Nice tutorial on re-creating @edhawkins.org Warming Stripes in Python & Matplotlib: towardsdatascience.com/visualizing-...

New dashboard to visualise CRU-TS country averages (i.e. CRU-CY) for temperature, precipitation, humidity and drought area (using our scPDSI indicator). (It takes a little while to first load, but is quite responsive after that) climate.uea.co/CRU-Timeseri...

And, if you prefer more details, then a graphic with a more complete range of indicators is also available, including Arctic sea ice, ocean heat content, tropospheric temperatures, cherry blossom dates and humidity over land. ed-hawkins.github.io/climate-visu...

Updated climate indicators graphics, now including 2025 ed-hawkins.github.io/climate-visu...

“It was for the sake of this day that he had first decided to run for the Presidency, a decision which had sent waves of astonishment throughout the Imperial Galaxy—Zaphod Beeblebrox? President? Not the Zaphod Beeblebrox? Not the President?” /continued

Updated climate indicators graphics, now including 2025 ed-hawkins.github.io/climate-visu...

“It was for the sake of this day that he had first decided to run for the Presidency, a decision which had sent waves of astonishment throughout the Imperial Galaxy—Zaphod Beeblebrox? President? Not the Zaphod Beeblebrox? Not the President?” /continued

A new all-electric double-decker Climate Stripes bus has started taking passengers around Reading today. The bus shows the warming stripes for Reading back to the 1860s and will hopefully help start climate conversations amongst passengers. #ShowYourStripes

A new all-electric double-decker Climate Stripes bus has started taking passengers around Reading today. The bus shows the warming stripes for Reading back to the 1860s and will hopefully help start climate conversations amongst passengers. #ShowYourStripes

26 days in a row with rain in Reading. Longest such sequence on record in observations at the University going back to 1908.

Sustainable transport 🤝 Climate communication As Reading continued to experience the longest unbroken spell of rainfall ever recorded in the town, it was fitting that Reading Buses were launching a new fleet of electric buses, including this beauty featuring the #ClimateStripes ♥️ #ShowYourStripes

The ocean is warming as the upper atmosphere is cooling – both as a result of excessive greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate 'fingerprints' mark human activity from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean theconversation.com/climate-fing...

Rising GHGs create a TOA energy imbalance - less heat escapes to space Predicted fingerprints: tropospheric warming, stratospheric cooling, ocean heat uptake Observed reality: 11 warmest years since 1850 are in the last decade Theory → prediction → observation theconversation.com/climate-fing...

Nice summary of observed climate fingerprints, as climate stripes. The stratosphere cooling is an important sign of human influence. With more GHGs absorbing outgoing heat, less reaches the stratosphere and it cools. Other causes - if the sun got hotter - would not cool the stratosphere.

Climate 'fingerprints' mark human activity from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean theconversation.com/climate-fing...

Ahead of two expert workshops for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the University's Whiteknights campus this February, we are excited to announce a FREE in-person and online public lecture, featuring IPCC Chair, Professor Sir Jim Skea. Register now 👉 https://rdg.ac/4alN8hX

A data-driven mosaic of our warming planet - now updated through 2025 🥵 Download graphic at zacklabe.com/climate-chan...

LOOKING FOR A NEW ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITY? Regius Professorship in Meteorology & Climate Science - a role awarded to the University of Reading by Queen Elizabeth II Seeking an exceptional academic leader who will shape the future of meteorology & climate science. jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Reading to host major IPCC expert workshops shaping the future of climate science We are delighted that the IPCC will bring two major international workshops to University of Reading in collaboration with the UK Government and Met Office - weather and climate next month. 👉 https://rdg.ac/3ZaWg2K

Inside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) EVENT: Public talk by Jim Skea, chair of the IPCC PLACE: University of Reading DATE: 9th Feb, 6.30pm DETAILS: www.reading.ac.uk/events/Feed/...

This will be an excellent conference for anyone interested in climate data and data visualisation.

What does 1.5°C even mean anyway? Lengthy new community effort to discuss definitions, meanings, uncertainties & monitoring how close we might be to global temperature levels given in the Paris Agreement. Led expertly by Peter Thorne [@peterthorne.bsky.social]: essd.copernicus.org/preprints/es...

Good luck to the reviewers…

When it rains, it now rains more. For those experiencing the flooding in south-west England, it is worth remembering that rainfall in winter has increased by about 25% overall. And, the rainfall has also become more intense: when it rains, it now rains more, increasing the risk of flooding.

When it rains, it now rains more. For those experiencing the flooding in south-west England, it is worth remembering that rainfall in winter has increased by about 25% overall. And, the rainfall has also become more intense: when it rains, it now rains more, increasing the risk of flooding.

🚨 NEW STUDY: As Australia prepares for another heatwave, our latest study found the early January heatwave which hit SE Australia was made 5x more likely due to climate change. What was once a relatively rare 1-in-25-year event is now expected about every 5 years. 🧵 1/6

The @metoffice.gov.uk have just tweaked their app. Improved: forecast maps scrolling better but not as clean as last app version. ‘Feels like’ temperature back on main carousel. Not fixed yet: No wind gusts on carousel. Locations list still awful design. Warnings list & map should be more visible.

Trump: "I haven't been able to find any windfarms in China." Reality: China has far more windfarms than any other country on Earth

So… the @metoffice.gov.uk app redesign - is it just a bit worse or much much worse?

Ben Santer, an outstanding scientist and historically significant figure in the development of understanding of climate change, is relocating to the UK. Very much looking forward to him visiting the @metoffice.gov.uk to talk about our common research interests.

Which option do we choose - act or delay? These are the 'warning' stripes highlighting global choices. Do we act rapidly and keep global temperatures below 2°C, or delay and end up in a 3°C world (or worse)?

As the climate data for 2025 continues to be released, it's time to update various data visualisations. First - the global climate stripes for 1850-2025. A third darkest red stripe is added. The last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years on record. A sequence that is unlikely to be broken soon.

176 tiny maps (1850-2025) Maps of temperature anomalies for each year. The progression to warmer, redder colours is evident over virtually the entire planet. This 'small multiples' #dataviz approach is effective to show that nowhere is escaping from the warming due to us burning fossil fuels.

Global mean temperature 2025: 1.44 ± 0.13 °C above the 1850-1900 average, based on a synthesis of eight international datasets. 2025 was the second or third warmest year on record. 2024 remains the warmest. That makes the past 3 years are the 3 warmest years on record. wmo.int/news/media-c...