Weather

There are few more spectacular demonstrations of nature's power than a thunderstorm. The World Meteorological Association (WMO) has now confirmed two new records for the biggest lightning bolts in recorded history, measured by duration and distance.

A new study looking at nearly four decades of data has shown that in almost every part of the world where hurricanes form, their strongest winds are getting even stronger, with global warming thought to be a key contributing factor.

The western United States has been suffering drought since 2000. A new study has examined extreme droughts in the region dating back 1,200 years, and found that the current conditions have the makings of a “megadrought” that could last decades.

A new study has calculated that the Greenland ice sheet lost hundreds of billions of tons of ice last year, marking the biggest drop in its ice mass since records began in 1948. The team found that unusual pressure patterns had a devastating impact.

New research from an international team of scientists is suggesting that instantly recognizable earthy smell after rain is released by bacteria trying to attract a particular arthropod as a way to spread its spores.

If you're wondering what the weather was like thousand of years ago, well … there aren't going to be weather reports from back then. What there are, however, are fossilized giant clam shells, and a new study suggests they could provide the answers.

The Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2019 report confirms that last year was another record-breaker, continuing a worrying trend that indicates we’re drifting further off-track from meeting the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

One of the most difficult challenges for artificial intelligence systems is predicting the weather – with an almost infinite number of variables to assess and model. But Google says its AI is making progress in the accuracy of its "nowcasts."

Australia is currently in one of the worst bushfires on record, and it’s not hard to see why. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has released a climate statement for 2019, and found that last year was the hottest and driest on record for the continent.

Real-time information from NASA's SMAP spacecraft is being sent to the Air Force's Air Force HQ 557th Weather Wing to improve weather forecasts, warnings and advisories that are more relevant to military operations in all theaters.

Given how deadly and destructive lightning can be, it would certainly be good to know in advance where and when it was going to strike. A new artificial intelligence-based system could help, utilizing nothing but standard weather-station data.

One of the benefits of driving a "connected" car is the ability to receive warnings of hazardous weather on the road ahead. Toyota is now looking at improving the accuracy of such warnings, by monitoring what vehicles' windshield wipers are up to.