Climatology is the scientific discipline within the atmospheric sciences that investigates the statistical behavior, physical processes, and dynamics of the climate system over periods from decades to millennia. It analyzes long-term patterns and variability of atmospheric variables such as temperature, precipitation, radiation, and circulation, and their coupling with oceans, cryosphere, land surface, and biosphere. Climatology employs observational datasets, reanalyses, paleoclimate proxies, and numerical climate models to quantify mean states, extremes, teleconnections, and feedbacks, and to attribute observed changes to internal variability and external forcings, including solar, volcanic, and anthropogenic influences.
A new study involving researchers from Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences has finally solved the mystery of what caused the collapse of an Ancient Chinese civilization—finding that widespread flooding was to blame. The ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 8, 2026
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Eucalyptus trees, laden with flammable oils, could spread into Portugal's south-central region by 2060 if changing climate conditions make the area more hospitable to their growth, creating wildfire hotspots that would evade ...
Environment
Feb 7, 2026
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22
Hybrid climate modeling has emerged as an effective way to reduce the computational costs associated with cloud-resolving models while retaining their accuracy. The approach retains physics-based models to simulate large-scale ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 7, 2026
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52
When viewers tune in to the 2026 Winter Olympics, they will see pristine, white slopes, groomed tracks and athletes racing over snow-covered landscapes, thanks in part to a storm that blanketed the mountain venues of the ...
Environment
Feb 5, 2026
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69
In 2025, Hawaiʻi experienced its second-driest year in more than a century, alongside persistently above-average temperatures throughout the year—a stark reality detailed in the inaugural Hawai'i Annual Climate Report 2025. ...
Environment
Feb 5, 2026
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12
Global climate models capture many of the processes that shape Earth's weather and climate. Based on physics, chemistry, fluid motion and observed data, hundreds of these models agree that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 5, 2026
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74
Climate experts have identified an atmospheric configuration that can release huge volumes of water in a matter of minutes. Led by Newcastle University and the UK Met Office, the research helps explain some of the world's ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 2, 2026
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34
A new study led by climatologists at the University at Albany has found that extreme heat waves across the Caribbean are becoming significantly more frequent, longer and severe. This study examined extreme summer heat waves ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 29, 2026
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38
To reduce air pollution associated with ocean transport, the International Maritime Organization tightened restrictions on sulfur content in ship fuel, resulting in an 80% reduction in emissions by 2020. That shift created ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 29, 2026
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When families decide where to buy a home, when cities approve new development, or when governments decide where to invest billions in resilience, they increasingly turn to climate-risk scores for guidance.
Environment
Jan 27, 2026
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