Science under the blue sky

Summer is coming to an end, and with it, the long, cloudless weeks when only the sun disturbs the unbroken blue sky, are about to disappear. Aesthetically, it’s a shame, but for farmers and city dwellers stifled by the many summer heatwaves, it’s a relief. Because this year, the International Day of “Clean Air for Blue Skies” (how poetic!) clearly has a specific theme: the effects of climate change have been felt with unprecedented intensity. The backdrop is often the depressing fact that some climate change deniers still confuse meteorology and climate.

You can find an overview of the meteorological research conducted by the CNRS laboratories. Understanding what is actually happening at a number of levels, that it is not just about measuring temperatures; you also need to constantly probe the atmosphere with balloons which are small masterpieces of technology, continually survey glaciers and coastlines, develop instruments capable of measuring the infamous “heat islands” which make towns and cities stifling in the summer, and even analyse the sources of disturbances, such as greenhouse gases. In short, it is a challenging but fascinating task. Come and meet our meteorologists, far away from the bright red maps of France which have filled our minds this summer…