Atmospheric Science

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Apr-2026 08:15 ET (16-Apr-2026 12:15 GMT/UTC)

16-Apr-2026

 

Warmer winters and snow drought may threaten western U.S. water by speeding flows, study finds

Oregon State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As future shifts in climate lead to more rain and less snow in the western United States, new research finds that water will move faster through a landscape, likely leading to negative impacts on summer water levels and water quality.

Journal

Scientific Reports

16-Apr-2026

A regulatory loophole could delay ozone recovery by years

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists find an exception in the Montreal Protocol for the use of ozone-depleting feedstocks could set the recovery of the ozone layer back seven years.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

NASA Headquarters, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, VoLo Foundation, United Kingdom Natural Environment Research Council, Korea Meteorological Administration Research and Development Program

15-Apr-2026

AMS science preview: AI forecast limits, unpredictable hurricanes, simplified heat index

American Meteorological Society
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research published in journals of the American Meteorological Society suggests that hurricane trends may become less predictable, discusses the limits of machine-learning weather forecasts, outlines a new process for calculating heat index, and more.

Journal

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

15-Apr-2026

 

Bottled lightning makes a cleaner fuel

Northwestern University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Methanol production consumes enormous amounts of energy and generates significant carbon dioxide. New process uses tiny bursts of underwater plasma to convert methane to methanol in just one step. Plasma is a rare form of matter on Earth but makes up 99% of the observable universe. If scaled, new system could convert methane into fuels at the source of leaks.

Journal

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Funder

U.S. Department of Energy, Army Research Office, David and Lucile Packard Foundation

14-Apr-2026

Hurricane-resilient coastal forests in the Northeastern U.S. may be nearing their limits

William Paterson University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A newly published research paper led by William Paterson University environmental science professor Nicole Davi (Wayne, NJ, US) finds that coastal forests demonstrate incredible resiliency following major hurricane events, but these forests are increasingly at risk from storm damage and surges and continued sea-level rise.

Journal

Global and Planetary Change

Funder

New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium

14-Apr-2026

 

Achieving GHG neutrality by 2060: China's unswerving decarbonization journey

Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

China has set an ambitious target to achieve carbon  neutrality by 2060, and promised the economy-wide net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction in its 2035 Enhanced National Determined Contribution (NDC). 

Journal

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

14-Apr-2026

UAlbany atmospheric scientist contributes to international study on contrail formation

University at Albany, SUNY
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new study, co-authored by Fangqun Yu of UAlbany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, a team of researchers found that modern “lean-burn” aircraft engines still produce the conditions necessary for contrail formation.

Journal

Nature