Climate research reveals shifting cloud cooling effects and rising UV levels

New research indicates that low-level clouds have acted as a natural brake on global warming for nearly five decades. Satellite data analysis from 1979 to 2025 shows that low clouds, particularly stratocumulus over tropical oceans, increased by approximately 0.18 percent per decade, reflecting solar radiation back into space and cooling the Earth's surface.

However, climate models suggest this cooling effect may reverse. Future simulations indicate that rising temperatures and changes in atmospheric circulation could reduce low cloud cover, potentially turning this mechanism into a positive feedback loop that accelerates warming.

Separately, a study published in 'Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences' reveals a significant increase in erythemal UV radiation across Europe between 2013 and 2022. At 26 out of 40 monitored stations, annual doses capable of causing skin redness increased by 0.46 to 2.62 percent per year. In Poland, observations from Belsk showed an average annual increase of 0.66 percent. Researchers noted that these increases cannot be fully explained by changes in total ozone levels.