A moderate impact of “anvil” clouds on global warming. These thick cumulonimbus clouds, whose shape is reminiscent of a blacksmith's tool, form above tropical regions during rainy seasons.
“These clouds are white, very bright and very cold at the top, ” recalls Philippe Ciais, researcher at the Climate and Environmental Sciences Laboratory. Will they increase or attenuate warming? And to what extent? An article published Monday in Nature Geoscience attempts to clarify the role of some of them.