DEPARTMENTAL SEMINARS

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Departmental research Blog

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Observatory Tours 2023

This year’s public tours of our meteorological observatory will take place on Friday 14 July and Wednesday 9 August. If you’d like to book a visit, for yourself or family members, or perhaps for a school student who may be interested in studying with us in the future, the bookings web page is now open. Early booking is advised to be sure of a place.

LATEST RESEARCH NEWS

Ex-Reading student helps ECMWF improve model

• Rebecca Emerton, previously an MMet and PhD student in the department, is now part of a team that strives to improve ECMWF’s weather model by looking for the causes of errors.

More wet and dry extremes

• • New research from the department shows a growing severity of wet and dry extremes which inlcude more rapid onset “flash” droughts

Royal Meteorological Society Awards for our Scientists

• • • David Brawshaw receives the Adrian Gill Award, Ed Hawkins the Hugh Robert Mill Award, Bryan Lawrence the Award for Innovation in Development of Computational Models, Tools or Visualisation and Roger Brugge the Award for Outstanding Contribution to The Society or Profession. Congratulations to all award recipients (see full list)!

Warming stripes projected onto The White Cliffs of Dover as a stark climate change message

• • • The iconic climate stripes, created by our very own Ed Hawkins to depict progressive warming of climate, were projected onto The White Cliffs of Dover, The Tate Modern chimney and landmarks in Reading, the USA and Canada on Wednesday, 21 June, to mark Show Your Stripes Day.

Summer rain mystery to be investigated with balloon squadron

• • • Thorwald Stein leads research in the WesCon Observing the Evolving Structures of Turbulence project

Aviation turbulence strengthened as the world warmed

• • • Mark Prosser led work published in Geophysical Research Letters showing observed worsening of clear air turbulence

Met Office partnership lead appointed

• • • Professor Helen Dacre has been appointed as Met Office Joint Chair – a key role in the University’s partnership with the Met Office.

Climate ‘spiral’ threatens land carbon stores

• • • The world’s forests are losing their ability to absorb carbon due to increasingly ‘unstable’ conditions caused by humans activities according to a new study in Nature, with contributions from our very own Patrick McGuire

Tropical storms signalled by atmospheric waves

• • • Identifying westward-moving atmospheric wave disturbances near the equator can help to improve forecasts of destructive tropical cyclones up to 2 weeks ahead according to new research from the Meteorology department

Greener flights work wins science prize at Times Higher Education Awards

• • • Work by Paul Williams and Nancy Nichols as part of a project to cut carbon emissions by using hard maths to better direct aircraft across the Atlantic has been named as the THE awards best UK science project of 2022

Take climate-changing aerosols seriously, scientists say

• • • Scientists, including Laura Wilcox from the department and NCAS Climate, have called for a more heightened consideration of the the uncertainties related to particle aerosol pollution in climate risk assessment

Salt more important than temperatures in sea ice formation

• • • New research in Science Advances from the department and University of Gothenburg is improving understanding of sea ice formation

Powerful hurricanes get second wind in Europe

• • • New research led by Elliott Sainsbury has found that stronger hurricanes that are reenergised by jet stream winds are twice as likely to cross the Atlantic and wreak havoc in Europe than weaker ones

Cocoa and climate expertise showcased to Nicaragua diplomats

Running Out Of Time Relay 2022

• • • Students, staff and the local community turned up on campus to show their support for Professor Ed Hawkins and Professor Peter Miskell who took part in the ‘Running Out Of Time’ Relay on Friday 7 October 2022; helping to deliver a message of climate action as part of the University of Reading’s contributions to tackle human-caused climate change

Reading in top 200 Universities globally and 4th best for Atmospheric Sciences

• • • The department has helped the University of Reading into the Times Higher Education top 200 Universities 2023 list and scored as 4th best for Atmospheric Sciences in the 2022 Shanghi Rankins

Continued and strenthened partnership with Met Office will further climate research

• • • The department is central to a renewed and strengthened Met Office Academic Partnership (MOAP) as part of an expanded initiative to understand the increasing impacts of extreme weather and climate change.

Fluctuations in Atlantic weather patterns found to impact India’s food and water supply

• • • New research led by Kieran Hunt has for the first time indentified a causal link between the North Atlantic Oscillation and winter precipitation over the Western Himalaya, of great importance to the year-round water supply for Indian agriculture

Department scientist wins prestigious American Meteorological Society Award

• • • Our very own Jonathan Gregory is the deserved 2023 recipient of the Syukuro Manabe Climate Research Award for outstanding contributions to the fundamental understanding of Earth’s climate system.

Climate Scientists Chase Arctic Cyclones

• • • Researchers from the University of Reading are involved in an important field campaign to understand how summertime Arctic cyclones affect, and are affected by, sea ice and their role in the rapidly changing climate

World leading research environment

• • • Our research environment is classified as world leading and we rank 3rd in the country for research power across Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences in the latest Research Excellence Framework assessment (REF2021)

The Meteorology building has been renamed the Hoskins Building

• • • Our department building has been named after Professor Sir Brian Hoskins. A member of the University of Reading since 1971, including as Head of the Department of Meteorology between 1990-96, Sir Brian began the Department’s growth into the major global force it is today. It was under his leadership that the conception, planning and construction of the Meteorology Building that will bear his name began.

Hunga Tonga volcano created biggest explosion on record

• • • Department scientists contributed to research published in the journal Science showing the Hunga Tonga volcano in the South Pacific created an explosion bigger than anything else ever recorded by modern geophysical equipment.

Ozone may be heating the planet more than we realise

• • • Important new research involving Associate Professor Michaela Hegglin has revealed that changes to ozone levels in the upper and lower atmosphere were responsible for almost a third of the warming seen in ocean waters bordering Antarctica in the second half of the 20th century.

Rescued Victorian rainfall data smashes former records

• • • Professor Ed Hawkins, Rainfall Rescue Project Lead, said: “I am still blown away by the response this project got from the public. Transcribing the records required around 100 million keystrokes, yet what I thought would take several months was completed in a matter of days.”

Department’s climate change research helps secure Queen’s Anniversary Prize

• • • The University of Reading was presented with a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize in a ceremony at St James’s Palace in London attended by joint head of the Department, Professor Joy Singarayer.

How does electric charge in cloud affect rain?

• • • New research led by Department of Meteorology professors advances understanding of how electric charge influences cloud drop growth that can ultimately lead to rainfall

New home for ECMWF on University of Reading campus

• • • The European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) will move to a new state-of-the-art, energy-efficient headquarters on the University of Reading campus, joining us to create the world’s largest cluster of weather and climate research and operational forecasting.

New maps of future climate risk in the UK

• • • Future risks from climate change affecting the UK have been mapped in a new interactive website as part of work led by Prof. Nigel Arnell

Professor Keith Shine elected as prestigious American Geophysical Union Fellow

• • • Prof. Keith Shine was elected for his outstanding achievements and contributions in advancing science in the area of how human activity affects Earth’s climate

New research suggests climate simulations may underestimate the impact of climate change

• • • Reading researchers, led by Dr Christopher O’Reilly, have found that climate models may be underestimating the impact climate change will have on the UK and North America due to a missing element – wind variability.

Tropical crops could suffer as climate change brings longer dry spells

• • • Research led by Dr Caroline Wainwright investigates how tropical wet and dry seasons change as climate warms
      

Climate scientists play leading role in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• • • The report, which warns that damaging effects of climate change are already being seen across the globe and featured prominently in the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow

Rainfall records provide glimpse into Britain’s scientific and social history

• • • Thousands of citizen scientists have combined to rescue more than 5 million rainfall records in just over a fortnight to help improve understanding of Britain’s weather – and get a new take on its social history.

Iconic climate stripes depicting global warming shared worldwide

• • • Climate change images created by the department’s Professor Ed Hawkins were shared all over the world, providing a stark warning of how the planet is heating up.

READING URBAN CLIMATE SCIENTIST BECOMES FIRST WOMAN TO WIN PRESTIGIOUS METEOROLOGY PRIZE

• • • University of Reading scientists have taken home five out of 19 awards in the 2020 Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) Awards and Prizes, including a Reading professor becoming the first female recipient of one of its top medals.

UAE Ambassador Visits University of Reading Weather Scientists

• • •  His Excellency Mansoor Abulhoul, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the UK, paid a visit to the University of Reading’s world-leading weather scientists this week.

Met department scientist explained why May was so cold

• • • Pete Inness explained why it’s still so cold and when the hot weather will return

Award for scientist providing cutting edge atmospheric electricity data

• • • Dr Keri Nicholl wins American Geophysical Union (AGU) Atmospheric and Space Electricity Early Career Award.

Our scientists use weather forecasts to direct conservation of elephants

• • • New project for our TAMSAT group will help protect species from increasing weather threats due to climate change

Leaders in climate change research, communication and action

• • • Department scientists play leading role in climate change research and communication

Missions to return humans to the Moon at risk from solar storms

• • • New research improves understanding of the link between extreme space weather and the solar cycle

Department’s NCAS and NCEO research centres certified as world-leading

• • • Two national science centres for the study the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land and ice, both with key groups at the University of Reading, have been certified as world-leading

New techniques to better use weather forecasts for a green electricity grid

• • • New research on how weather influences renewable electricity production

Sudden stratospheric warming increases chance of cold spell

• • • Our scientists provide expert assessment of how changes many kilometres above our heads have a bearing on weather patterns over the next few weeks

Data assimilation – from model-driven to data-driven

• • • Watch ‘Inaugural Lecture Alberto Carrassi and reception’ | Microsoft Stream

Irreversible sea level rise from Greenland ice melt?

• • • New research led by Professor Jonathan Gregory has demonstrated how climate change could lead to irreversible sea level rise far in the future as temperatures continue to rise and the Greenland ice sheet continues to decline

UK still lacks serious plan to address invisible threat of heat

• • • a new study involving members of the department argues that the UK’s approach to dealing with heatwaves is inadequate compared to visible, yet far less deadly, disasters like floods and storms.

Alliance of top Universities urge G20 leaders to prioritise net zero emissions

• • • The University of Reading has joined an international coalition of leading climate research universities in issuing its first declaration ahead of the G20 Summit

New research could improve prediction of tropical rainfall changes

• • • An important study published in the prestigious Nature journal finds climate simulations may underestimate how sensitive tropical rainfall is to ocean temperature changes. As explained by the department’s Chris Holloway, who contributed to the study, these findings may pave a way for improving weather and climate predictions

Professor Giles Harrison to receive 2021 EGU Christiaan Huygens Medal

Our climate scientists play leading role in climate change adaptation event

• • • Professors Rowan Sutton, Ted Shepherd, Nigel Arnell and Pier Luigi Vidale contribute to Is the UK on track to adapt to climate change? conference, jointly hosted by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), the UK Climate Resilience programme (UKCR) Champions and the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

Awards for our scientists advancing weather forecasting, climate science and aviation safety

• • • Internationally renowned climate scientist Professor Keith Shine has been awarded the Mason Gold Medal, the premier award of the Royal Meteorological Society
    • Dr Dacre, Associate Professor of Dynamical Meteorology at Reading, received the FitzRoy Prize for her leading research on volcanic ash clouds and their risk to aviation.
    • Dr Joanne Waller was jointly awarded the L F Richardson Prize for her innovative research, undertaken while in the department, into better understanding uncertainties in weather forecasting methods, and how doing so can improve weather predictions.

Solar storm forecasts for Earth improved with help from the public

• • • Solar storm analysis carried out by an army of citizen scientists has helped researchers devise a new and more accurate way of forecasting when Earth will be hit by harmful space weather.

NEWS ARCHIVES

2019

Our speaker for the Seventh Annual Distinguished Morley Seminar was Professor Gwyneth Stallard, OBE, Professor of Pure Mathematics at the Open University. The Seminar was held on Wednesday 23rd October 2019.

• • • Professor Jonathan Gregory receives BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award

• • • Professor Paul Williams runner up in NERC Societal Impact Award for work on in-flight turbulence following stiff competition from research on microplastics
      • Watch University public lecture by Ed Hawkins: Climate change: past, present & future
        • Earliest UK weather records could hold key to predicting future climate
          • A century and half of reconstructed ocean warming offers clues for the future

2018

• • • Mysterious giant dust particles found at gravity-defying distances
      • COP24: UN talks have an opportunity to align rules with their long-term temperature goal
        • Wet season changes under future climate change could harm ‘vulnerable’ Africa (see schematic)

• • • Scientists from the department attend the UN COP24 climate meeting in Katowice, Poland
      • Professor Paul Williams contributes to UN-style climate negotiations for school students
        • • Vulnerability to heat unacceptably high and rising – new Lancet report featuring Professor Nigel Arnell
          • AURORAS UNLOCK THE PHYSICS OF ENERGETIC PROCESSES IN SPACE
          • Weather forecasts from outer space could help keep Earth safe
          • Professor Ed Hawkins awarded Royal Society Kavli Medal for his contributions to understanding and communicating climate science

 

• • • Research Engagement and Impact Awards for Professor Paul Williams and also Professor Ed Hawkins and Stephen Burt
      • Red sky in sight shows charging at height
        • Professor Graeme Stephens elected FRS – and RMetS awards to Meteorology staff announced
          • Atlantic circulation ‘slowdown’ study hints at future climate disruption
          • Six Meteorology scientists named as lead authors in upcoming IPCC climate change assessment
          • More sting jet storms likely due to global warming
          • TAMSAT rainfall data helping over a million farmers weather drought in Zambia
          • Limiting global temperature rise to 1.5^oC would avoid 60-95% of climate change impacts

2017

• • • Study discovers why global warming will accelerate as CO₂ levels rise
      • Outlook Fine For Summer Seasonal Weather Forecasts
        • • A new effort aims to recover meteorology data collected by a group of hardy Victorian Scottish scientists

RECENT DEPARTMENTAL EVENTS

Our Changing Climate: Past, Present and Future – Public Lecture by Professor Ed Hawkins in the Palmer Building, Wednesday 17th October (View lecture)