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Atmospheric Science

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Jun-2026 04:16 ET (15-Jun-2026 08:16 GMT/UTC)

Wildfire emissions have reversed more than a decade of steady reductions in ozone

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

After more than a decade of steady decreases, surface ozone (O₃) trends in North America reversed in 2015 despite policy mitigation efforts, report Weizhi Deng and colleagues. Their research links this reversal to O₃ emissions from wildfires and additionally documents a related rise in premature mortality. “Despite regulated reductions in anthropogenic emissions of O₃ precursors, observation stations indicate that policy-relevant surface O₃ levels have plateaued,” the authors write, tying this phenomenon to an increase in wildfire emissions. They describe the relationship between wildfires and surface O₃ trends more closely by using deep learning models to evaluate existing yet sparse EPA, satellite, and meteorological measurements, generating a dataset of daily surface O₃ measurements at a 1-kilometer resolution in North America from 2003 to 2024. Doing so revealed that O₃ trends flipped from a decrease of 0.65 parts per billion (ppb) per year before 2015 to an increase of 0.13 ppb per year after 2015. Further analyses determined this post-2015 rate would have stayed in decline (−0.25 ppb per year) if not for wildfire emissions. The authors then examined correlations between O₃ trends and premature deaths, attributing emissions to an additional 318 deaths per year since 2013. Essentially, after 2013, the mortality rate attributable to wildfire-sourced O₃ rose by 46%. Finally, Deng et al. examined O₃ emissions from 2022 to 2024, a period marked by extreme fires and smoke in Canada. Results showed wildfire emissions alone exposed 43 million people to unhealthy levels of air pollution, in excess of the United States’ O₃ air quality standard of 70 ppb. The authors suggest that these emissions prevented the United States from tightening its O₃ air quality standard by 4 ppb. They elaborate: “If the O₃ standard were lowered to 65 ppb, 60% of the population (202 million people) would fall into nonattainment, and under a 60-ppb standard, the fraction would increase to 87% (294 million people). These findings demonstrate the challenge in adopting a more stringent O₃ standard as growing wildfires contribute to high O₃ episodes.”

Journal: Science

Application of a real-time data assimilation system to improve streamflow forecasts in Japan

Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo (IIS U-Tokyo) have developed a real-time data assimilation system that substantially improves streamflow and flood forecasting accuracy across Japan. This new data assimilation system outperforms Japan’s current early warning system. Compared with the previous early warning system, the new data assimilation system yields improved forecasts for 80% of the major river reaches in Japan and enables reliable flood prediction across more than 60% of the observation stations in Japan.

Journal: Journal of Hydrology

Wafer-scale nanoforests decode silent speech into text in real time

International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, researchers have created a wearable sensor that reads the chemical signature of human breath to translate silent mouth movements into text. Built on standard silicon wafers, the device uses a microscopic, tree-like structure to capture the rapid water vapor changes that occur when a person mouths words.

Journal: International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing

Intensification of atmospheric rivers bringing heavy rainfall to Japan

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are long, narrow bands of intense water vapor transport that move large amounts of moisture from low to mid latitudes, resembling giant rivers in the sky. They are gaining widespread attention because of their potential to trigger flooding across the Japanese archipelago. Researchers at University of Tsukuba have discovered that influenced by global warming and the strengthening of the North Pacific Subtropical High, the intensity of water vapor transport in ARs has increased by approximately 8% over the past 42 years (1981-2022).

Journal: Climate Dynamics

Distant climate patterns determine how cold Japan's winters become

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team led by University of Tsukuba has revealed that the severity of Japanese winters is strongly influenced by the combined behavior of two distant climate systems: atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic-European region and convective activity in the tropical Indo-Pacific. When these systems align, they reinforce each other and intensify cold conditions in Japan; when they are misaligned, their influence weakens, leading to milder impacts.

Journal: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society

On-demand weather observations to strengthen climate resilience in the Arctic

Research Organization of Information and Systems
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Arctic communities are increasingly exposed to dangerous weather events due to climate change and rely on accurate weather forecasts. However, conditions in the lower atmosphere remain poorly observed in the Arctic because monitoring systems are expensive and difficult to deploy. Now, researchers propose a new framework for on-demand atmospheric observations based on lightweight, low-cost profiling systems that can be operated by local communities whenever additional weather data are needed, helping improve forecasting and climate resilience.

Journal: npj Climate Action
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

At least two weather patterns increase headaches, University of Cincinnati study suggests

University of Cincinnati
Reports and Proceedings

Two specific weather patterns have been identified as capable of increasing the risk of headaches. University of Cincinnati physicians and their co-investigators will present their findings at the upcoming American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting.

Funder: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

Not too sunny, not too shady, just right

Kyoto University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Kyoto, Japan -- As climate change alters the temperatures of animal habitats, it seems natural that endotherms, warm-blooded animals like us, would prefer to hang out in the shade during hot weather. The use of microhabitats in the sun and shade is an important thermoregulatory behavior that has been reported across a wide range of animal species, and researchers are becoming increasingly interested in how animals -- especially those with long lifespans -- flexibly cope with thermal stress.

Japanese macaques, sometimes colloquially called snow monkeys, reside further north than any other non-human primates, and also have the highest hair density, which may make it difficult for them to dissipate heat. While observing some macaques in the field, a researcher at Kyoto University noticed that some of them appeared to choose resting sites that were neither fully sunny, nor fully shaded.

"That observation led me to wonder whether semi-shade might play a more meaningful role in thermoregulation than previously recognized," says corresponding author Yoshiyuki Tabuse.

Journal: Primates
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Kyoto University

Rising emissions, depleting water and vanishing land—UN scientists: AI is threatening natural resources for billions

United Nations University
Reports and Proceedings

Ahead of the World Environment Day, a new study by the United Nations scientists warns about the rising environmental footprints of AI and its lasting impacts on climate, water, and ecosystems

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