Learn more about albedo – the simple measurement that has a vast impact on our planet and influences the climate ...

The scientists scoured NASA satellite data, weather data and climate models and found the decline in low clouds reduced the planet’s albedo to record lows last year.

One trend appears to have significantly affected the reduced planetary albedo: the decline in low-altitude clouds in the northern mid-latitudes and the tropics.

Albedo is the reflection of sunlight back into space, mainly from bright surfaces such as clouds, snow, ice and atmospheric particles, providing an essential planetary cooling shield.

The fact that mainly low clouds and not higher-altitude clouds are responsible for the reduced albedo has important consequences. Clouds at all altitudes reflect sunlight, producing a cooling effect.

Fewer-than-expected low-lying clouds has been identified as a potential reason behind mystery global warming in 2023. Last year was the hottest on record, reaching 1.45 degrees of warming since ...

"The cloud-related albedo reduction is apparently largely due to a pronounced decline of low-level clouds over the northern mid-latitude and tropical oceans, in particular the Atlantic," the ...

Spanish researchers have defined practical guidelines for short-term ground-based albedo measurements that reportedly entail a maximum of 1.5% yield uncertainty contribution for utility scale ...

So, what is causing this significant effect on the planetary albedo? The AWI research team has identified one cause: a decline in low-altitude clouds in the northern mid-latitudes and the tropics.