The massive Thwaites glacier in West Antarctica contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by 65cm if it were to completely collapse. And, worryingly, recent research suggests that its…Read More >
meteorology
University of Reading scientists appointed to leading roles in National Centre for Earth Observation
Prof Sarah L. Dance and Dr Amos S. Lawless, from the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences, have recently been appointed to leading roles in the UK National Centre…Read More >
Working from home: can emissions really be reduced and what are the broader implications for cities?
The working arrangements of millions of us around the world changed dramatically after COVID-19 lockdowns went into effect globally in March of 2020. Suddenly, working from home (WFH), which was…Read More >
Working together to change climate change
In the run-up to the COP26 Summit in November 2021, we held four all-staff talks to highlight our world-leading climate and environmental research. Each session included a research presentation and…Read More >
COP26: what would the world be like at 3°C of warming and how would it be different from 1.5°C?
In the Paris Agreement, countries committed to seek to limit the increase in temperature to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. However, even if countries fulfilled their current pledges to reduce emissions,…Read More >
Report from Europe’s flood zone: researcher calls out early warning system gridlock amid shocking loss of life
It was close to midnight when I received a phone call from my sister telling me that our parent’s house was under water. Neither she nor they really knew what…Read More >
Severe storms from tropics reach Europe once every five years on average – new research
An unusual and devastating storm struck Ireland in the early hours of October 16, 2017. Record-breaking gusts of up to 119mph left 360,000 homes without electricity and, sadly, three people…Read More >
Antarctica’s ice shelves are trembling as global temperatures rise – what happens next is up to us
Images of colossal chunks of ice plunging into the sea accompany almost every news story about climate change. It can often make the problem seem remote, as if the effects…Read More >
Climate change is making extreme cold much less likely, despite the UK plummeting to -23°C
The UK, along with large parts of northern Europe, is in the grip of an unusually cold period of weather thanks to a flow of cold easterly winds from Siberia….Read More >
Why a green electricity grid depends on weather forecasts improving
Boxing Day 2020 was so blustery that more than half of the UK’s daily electricity was met by wind power for the first time. Just over a week later, the wind died…Read More >