New Scientist reports:
In 2007, it was uncertain even whether clouds cooled or warmed the planet overall. “But we now believe that they are a positive feedback on temperature,” he says. “Their warming effect will intensify with global warming.”
New Scientist reports:
In 2007, it was uncertain even whether clouds cooled or warmed the planet overall. “But we now believe that they are a positive feedback on temperature,” he says. “Their warming effect will intensify with global warming.”
I think they are blowing smoke.
Cloud cover acts like a blanket over a particular area, but water vapor is the result of heat acting on water, which takes the heat away from the water.
And clouds block the sun during the day which blocks surface heating.
Without that surface heating, there is less heat to trap.
Like a dog chasing it’s tail.
Another reason that the coldest days and nights will be warmer, is that the CO2 effect can only really happen in places where there is little H2O in the air. The H2O has a similar (though not exact) frequency absorbtion pattern, so if there is a lot of H2O in the air it tends to block the work of the evil CO2. So when do you get the dryest air (not talking relative humidity here – actually dry air) Well of course in the middle of winter when it is coldest in northern lattitudes. Close to the equater there should be no effect at all even when the relative humidity is low (low RH in a hot climate means air still has a lot of moisture in it)
Clouds have mixed effects on temperatures. Of course we know that clouds at night tend to keep the area a little warmer, sometimes quite a bit. That may be part of why (here’s a little-discussed point about climate change) the shift has been more that minimum temperatures have been less cold and maximum temperatures have changed very little.
I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now.
I don’t know about the rest of this planet but in Florida during the summer when we have a cloudy day you can actually feel the decrease in temperature, and there’s a good chance there’ll be rain.
I can see clouds at night keeping the ground a bit warmer, and clouds during the day coolling things off. I don’t quite understand these AGW folk’s alternate universe however.