快猫短视频

Environment

The moon has a small but noticeable effect on climate change

An 18.6-year lunar cycle is believed to change how the tides affect the mixing of water in the oceans, and could mean we breach 1.5掳C of global warming sooner

By Adam Vaughan

29 April 2022

Full moon over an iceberg at dusk, Saqqaq, Disko Bay, Greenland, September 2009

The moon might explain why聽the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet

Wild Wonders of Europe/Jensen/naturepl.c鈥媜m

The moon appears to be having a small effect on Earth鈥檚 changing climate that could hasten the point at which the world鈥檚 1.5掳C climate target is breached.

The angle of the moon鈥檚 orbital plane relative to the equator changes in a predictable 18.6-year cycle, but it wasn’t known what impact this has on Earth’s surface temperatures.

In a modelling at the University of Reading, UK and his colleagues found that the…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with 快猫短视频 events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, today with our introductory offers

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop