When it comes to clouds, the region in the far south of New Zealand (Aotearoa) is unique in the world: it is one of the most pristine, cleanest but yet accessible regions on the planet. An international consortium with participation of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) and the University of Leipzig will therefore study the clouds in this region in detail for one and a half years during the "goSouth-2" campaign. Embedded in goSouth-2, the Project ACADIA, funded by the German Research Community, will investigate in particular the influence of small changes in air quality on cloud formation. The remote sensing observations from the ground are an important link between the "HALO-South" aircraft mission of the German research aircraft HALO in September-October 2025 and the expeditions of the German research vessels Sonne and Polarstern planned for 2027/28, all of which will investigate the atmosphere of the Southern Ocean at the edge of Antarctica. New Zealand’s MetService and the University of Canterbury in Christchurch (Ōtautahi) are also significantly involved in the projects.

Glaciers across High Mountain Asia are losing more than 22 gigatons of ice per year. The impact of a warming climate on glacial loss is undisputed—this new study provides the first evidence that seasonal shifts in rainfall and snowfall patterns, particularly of the South Asian monsoons, are also exacerbating glacier melting across the region.

Led by Univerisity of Maryland researchers, this novel experiment reveals how thunderstorms affect our climate and how Earth’s atmosphere breaks down pollution. 

The Philippines, like other tropical countries, is known more for its balmy climate than for hailstorms. But a new Philippine study—the first of its kind—has found that the country’s hottest days are, in fact, more likely to produce hail.

The microscopic alliance between algae and bacteria offers rare, step-by-step snapshots of how bacteria lose genes and adapt to increasing host dependence. This is shown by a new study led by researchers from Stockholm University, in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Linnaeus University, published in Current Biology.

Newly published research reveals that the polluted Tijuana River releases large quantities of the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide — commonly known as “sewer gas” because of its association with sewage and rotten egg smell. Scientists measured peak concentrations of hydrogen sulfide that were some 4,500 times what is typical for an urban area. In addition, the paper identifies hundreds of other gases released into the air by the polluted Tijuana River and its ocean outflow, which can contribute to poor air quality across the region.