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Mike Byrne

@drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social
862 followers 426 following 83 posts

climate scientist | extreme temperatures, atmospheric dynamics, water cycle | Reader @ U. St Andrews, PhD from MIT | he/him | 🇮🇪 in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 sites.google.com/view/climate-dynam…

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Reposted by Mike Byrne
Sam Burgess @oceanterra.org · 02/10/2026
Europe didnt just experience an exceptionally hot summer in 2026. It experienced a summer where multiple climate extremes reinforced each other. First - temperature records were broken at daily, monthly and seasonal scales across Europe Read more: climate.copernicus.eu/summer-revie...
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Ed Hawkins @edhawkins.org · 02/10/2026
Another "need to extend the y-axis" moment... Average temperature in Central England for Jan-Sep for each year since 1772. It is 0.8°C higher in 2026 than any other previous year.
Timeseries of average Jan-Sep temperature for Central England with huge jump up in 2026
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
'Hotter and hotter and hotter' - Europe's new climate in seven charts
Temperature records were smashed in June - and scientists warn this is a sign of things to come.
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Justin S. Mankin @jsmankin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"Pricing El Niño is not the same as preventing its loss of life. Yet, many of those acting on its forecasts are using them to move money, not people, out of harm’s way." My editorial for Science on why hedging El Niño is not the same as adapting to it: www.science.org/eprint/DU6FR...
science.org
Hedging El Niño isn’t the same as adapting to it
Record-setting warm waters slosh eastward across the tropical Pacific, forming El Niño. This recurrent climate pattern reconfigures severe weather worldwide, and with it, the global economy. Scientist...
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umsonst.bsky.social @umsonst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Globally, heatwave onset advanced by 3.29 ± 0.12 days per decade, ending was delayed by 5.41 ± 0.12 days per decade and the heatwave season lengthened by 8.71 ± 0.17 days per decade. #climate #earth
nature.com
Earlier and faster heatwave onset on land under a warming climate - Nature Climate Change
Heatwaves are expected to become more frequent and intense with global warming. Here the authors assess changes in their timing, finding that the heatwave season expands and that many regions see a fa...
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Reposted by Mike Byrne
Rage Against the Miocene @organiccarbon.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
Climate crisis likely behind devastating Nepal-Tibet floods that killed more than 1,300, first study finds
Scientists say global heating was a destabilising factor in collapse of 200,000 sq metre glacier in August
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Reposted by Mike Byrne
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
🧵CO₂ removal (CDR) is back in the news, but just because the UNEP report says we need CDR, it doesn't mean we'll have CDR. Many challenges will take decades of research and negotiation to solve. Here are some examples: Technological: We currently don't have any durable CDR method that scales.
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World Meteorological Organization @wmo-global.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Today is #CleanAirDay. But findings of the 🆕 WMO Air Quality & Climate Bulletin show that an increase in pollution from wildfires and heatwaves could slow efforts to improve air quality and protect human and ecosystem health. ↪️ bit.ly/3UBN1cV
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Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun @eaterofsun.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Happy to have played a small part in helping this piece into print. www.economist.com/by-invitatio...
economist.com
The world may have less time than it thinks on climate change
If it is affecting circulation patterns that determine how and where anticyclones form, it could accelerate alarmingly, warns Tim Palmer
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Roshan Jha @roshanjha.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
New study: dry-air entrainment intensifies moist heat extremes in higher latitudes in summer; continental drying could worsen this in future climates through increased lower free tropospheric dryness with @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social doi.org/10.1029/2026GL122678
doi.org
Entrainment‐Based Framework for Understanding Extratropical Moist Heat Extremes
Dry-air entrainment in the lower free troposphere intensifies extratropical moist heat extremes Entrainment-based framework explains breakdown of moist convective neutrality during extratropical ...
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Reposted by Mike Byrne
Matt Luongo @luongomatt.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Hiatus v2?? Check it out! Our recent work, led by Shang-Ping Xie & Ayumu Miyamoto, suggests that internal variability has strongly influenced satellite-era (~1980-present) tropical Pacific SST trends. www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Counterintuitively, mixing of dry air into convecting plumes amplifies moist heat extremes. This "entrainment" effect strengthens as climate warms and dries, increasing human heat stress. Details in our new paper, led by @roshanjha.bsky.social: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Glacial collapse is more likely because of climate change. Glaciers are particularly vulnerable due to rapid warming in mountainous regions. This "elevation dependent warming" is caused by sfc albedo and Planck feedbacks (info: wcd.copernicus.org/articles/5/7...) www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c6...
bbc.co.uk
Nepal-Tibet: More than 350 killed in Nepal as rising lake raises fear of new flood - follow live
The US Geological Survey says "glacial collapse" triggered the wall of water and mud that tore through Nepal and Tibet. Hundreds of people are still missing.
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Beni Stocker @stineb.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Is the European 2026 drought unprecedented in the last millennium? An answer based on the recently published Master thesis work by Patricia Helpap: geco-group.org/post/pcwd_20...
geco-group.org
Is the European 2026 drought unprecedented in the last millennium? | Geocomputation and Earth Observation
Patricia Helpap recently published her Master thesis work in AGU Advances (Helpap et al., 2026). She contrasted the droughts of the recent past (2000-2024) versus an extended context, covering the pas...
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Erich Fischer @erichfischer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Projection has become reality 22 years ago, Christoph Schär et al. published a landmark paper in Nature explaining that the 2003 heatwave was a harbinger of things to come. The study featured an iconic figure - shown in countless lectures - illustrating how outlandish the event was at the time
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Ed Hawkins @edhawkins.org · 21/08/2026
With the looming El Nino, what does this mean for UK weather? Likely wet? The major El Nino events of the last 50 years have all been coincident with a wet UK in late autumn into winter. The wetter winter part did not occur during the 1877-78 El Nino, which we think was the largest event on record.
Rainfall in the UK during autumn and winter in past El Nino events
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Reposted by Mike Byrne
Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 19/08/2026
Woah.
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World Meteorological Organization @wmo-global.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
The past month was the joint warmest July on record – tying with July 2024 – according to @NOAA. From record-high temperatures to drought to monsoons and hurricanes, this map illustrates recent weather and climate events around the world. Read more: bit.ly/4xzcZfg
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
New study showing hot days over tropical land are projected to warm faster than the average day (bad news for climate impacts) 🌡️🔥🥵 Amplified warming of hot days is explained by the drier-get-drier theory (see: www.nature.com/articles/s41...) agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Projections of Earth's Hottest Surface Temperatures in CMIP6
CMIP6 captures the broad spatial pattern of p99(Tmax) versus Berkeley Earth, supporting projections of record-like heat Tropical extremes amplify: TDM and TDX warm ∼30%–40% faster than TTL in SSP...
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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The UK Hydrological Summary for July looks back at an unprecedented month. It was the driest July in both England and Wales, and third driest of any month for England (in records from 1890). Low flows in many catchments, reservoir stocks decline, dry soils... Full summary tinyurl.com/53ejhrpd
Map indicating river flows in the UK in July 2026 with key. Sites circled recorded record low flows
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Robert Rohde @rarohde.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
With record-breaking heatwaves, France just had both its warmest June and July on record. Systematic collection of weather data basically began in Western Europe, giving Europe the longest thermometer-based histories in the world. After more than 250 years, we have changed the climate. 🧪
Time series graph of June-July average temperature in France relative to the 1850-1900 baseline.  Data from Berkeley Earth.
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Warming temperatures + decreasing relative humidity = more water being sucked from soil / reservoirs = DROUGHT. Simple physics. Europe + UK are on the frontline because they are warming so rapidly – it will get worse until 'net zero' is reached. That's my TED talk 🌍 www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cw...
bbc.co.uk
UK weather: More than two-thirds of England now in drought with conditions set to worsen
The National Drought Agency adds the East Midlands, Kent, East Sussex, and other parts of England to the areas officially in drought conditions.
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Staggering
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World Weather Attribution @wwattribution.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Human-induced climate change made the extreme fire weather that fuelled the recent destructive wildfires at least twice as likely in France and at least 20 times more likely in Spain, according to our new study.
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Wildfires: why media coverage doesn’t always make the climate connection A fire is an event. Climate change is the story behind the event. Journalism has to tell both. theconversation.com/wildfires-wh...
theconversation.com
Wildfires: why media coverage doesn’t always make the climate connection
A wildfire can be explained by today’s barbecue, yesterday’s wind direction, a dry spring, four decades of land use change, or a century of emissions.
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
www.nbcnews.com/science/clim...
nbcnews.com
Why Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, was primed to burn this summer
The continent has warmed twice as fast as the rest of the globe over the last 30 years. The fires in France and Spain are a consequence of the extreme heat, which dried out vegetation.
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Reposted by Mike Byrne
Kate Marvel @drkatemarvel.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Scientists warned you about: ♨️ more/longer/hotter heatwaves (hot planet=hot weather) 🌀 stronger storms (warm water=hurricane food) 🌧️ downpours (warm air holds more water vapor) 🌵 droughts (warm air is thirstier) 🔥 fire weather (hotter, drier) 🌊 sea level rise (land ice melts, warm water expands)
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
New preprint on the physics of land humidity using 'water tagging' simulations. Key pt: land specific humidity changes primarily controlled by water advected from ocean regions, but relative humidity changes closely tied to local processes (e.g., soil moisture) essopenarchive.org/doi/abs/10.2...
essopenarchive.org
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Paulo Ceppi @pauloceppi.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Cloudiness has been declining globally for the last two decades. Why is this and how does it matter for global warming? Read our new article to find out! 👇 doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4153-2026 And see the @carbonbrief.org post summarising the key findings buff.ly/oLxKacO
doi.org
Emerging low-cloud feedback and adjustment in global satellite observations
Abstract. From mid-2003 to mid-2024, a global decrease in low-cloud amount enhanced the absorption of solar radiation by 0.22±0.07 W m−2 per decade (±1σ range), accelerating the energy imbalance trend...
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Wildfires are an increasing threat to the Scottish Highlands www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Wildfire still burning as helicopter waterbombs Cairngorms
More than 50 firefighters are spending a third day tackling the blaze which started in heathland near Nethy Bridge.
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Reposted by Mike Byrne
Valérie Masson-Delmotte @valmasdel.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
AI in scientific publishing: Slower, worse, and more expensive | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
AI in scientific publishing: Slower, worse, and more expensive
There’s a saying in the management world, popularized by NASA administrator Daniel Goldin in the 1990s, that the goal of technological improvements is to make products faster, better, and cheaper. Alt...
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MetJam @metjam.co.uk · 15/07/2026
"The average hottest day of the year has warmed by over 4.5°C in a swathe from Kent to Lincolnshire for the most recent decade, 2016-2025, compared to 1961-1990" From the State of the UK Climate in 2025, first published yesterday.
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National Centre for Atmospheric Science @ncas-uk.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
#NERC is seeking views on the capabilities, infrastructure, technologies and skills required to sustain and grow UK atmospheric science. We’re asking NCAS colleagues and collaborators to contribute to the review: ncas.ac.uk/help-shape-t...
Satellite image of dry land and dark ocean.
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
The inaugural EUCLIDYAN workshop was hosted by the Max Planck Institute in March. It was a fantastic event, establishing new collaborations and a new community of European climate dynamics researchers. We will host EUCLIDYAN #2 @earthscista.bsky.social in 2027 🌍 mpimet.mpg.de/en/communica...
mpimet.mpg.de
Connected Across Europe: The EUCLIDYAN Initiative on Climate Dynamics
EUCLIDYAN connects European research groups studying climate dynamics in a unique way: The initiative focuses on young researchers—and on personal connections that encourage scientific collaboration.
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Leo Hickman @leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 24/06/2026
++BREAKING++ Leading climate scientists in the UK have written to senior editors in broadcast media - and OFCOM and IPSO: "To express our concern about recent media coverage of extreme weather, climate change and net-zero and to urge you…to inform public audiences of the scientific links"
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 24/06/2026
Temperatures have continued to climb this afternoon, and we now have a new provisional June record of 36.0 °C, recorded at both Wisley, Surrey and Gosport in Hampshire
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Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
How average and extreme summer temperatures are changing in Western Europe. Graph: Robert Rohde. This will continue until we reach net zero emissions, whether you like it or not: it’s physics. @rarohde.bsky.social
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ECMWF @ecmwf.int · 22/06/2026
An ECMWF study on heat stress has been published in @nature.com Climate Change today: Heat stress seasons are lengthening, with more frequent and severe compound events. This poses an escalating threat to health, livelihoods and economic productivity globally. ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Robert Rohde @rarohde.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
People will die this week. The next few days will bring record-breaking heat to France, a country ill-prepared for widespread temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F). For the French: stay hydrated, stay in the shade, exercise due caution, and seek help if you need it.
Map of forecasted temperatures at 5 PM on Tuesday 6/23 from the ICON model.  Image source: https://www.ventusky.com/#p=48.1;-8.4;5&t=20260623/1500
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Erich Fischer @erichfischer.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
An amazing workshop with plenty of novel and exciting new research. Very timely research, given the ongoing heatwave. Thank you very much @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social, @gabihegerl.bsky.social and Jack Scheff for organizing it.
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Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 20/06/2026
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT “NORMAL SUMMER WEATHER” FOR THE UK — ESPECIALLY IN JUNE! (Record is 35.6°C) We are seeing the effects of climate change due to human activity playing out. Image is the latest Met Office forecast for London
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Excited to host the Land-Climate Workshop @uniofstandrews.bsky.social this week! Looking forward to ~40 talks + posters on cutting-edge research questions spanning wildfires, drought, freshwater availability, monsoons, extreme weather and much more! @earthscista.bsky.social @gabihegerl.bsky.social
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Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Finally! An article about the AMOC circulation that isn’t just clickbait / hype, and provides some real physical insights about how the ocean works. It turns out the ocean may be far more resilient than clikbait stories suggest. A very worthwhile read! www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
The ocean current that warms Europe may be more resilient than feared
Studies of the Atlantic's circulation find signs of both weakening and unexpected stability in the face of global warming
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University College Dublin @ucddublin.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
🌞👨‍🔬 “It’s not what we’re meant to have in terms of our climate. It’s not what we’re built for...we need to be careful of those kinds of things. These are serious events, and having more of these is not good for us." - UCD Professor Andrew Parnell, UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics
independent.ie
Heat alert issued for eight counties as forecasters predict another record-breaking 31C today
Boy fights for life after Monaghan lake incident amid renewed water‑safety alerts
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MetJam @metjam.co.uk · 26/05/2026
Kew Gardens recording 35.1ºC today breaks its previous May record in 1922 before this spell by NEARLY 5ºC and breaks its June maximum temperature record set in 1976 by 0.5ºC - this also beats the previous May UK maximum record by OVER 2ºC (32.8ºC, 1922/44). An incredible anomaly
Spaghetti chart showing Kew and Kew Gardens daily maximum temperatures for every day of the year from 1881 to 2026. 145 years of historical data are shown as faint grey lines tracing the typical seasonal cycle, rising from around 5–10°C in winter to a summer peak of roughly 25–30°C in July and August. A blue smoothed 30-day mean line highlights the average annual temperature cycle. The 2026 line is shown in bold red, tracking near the historical average through winter and spring before spiking sharply upward in late May to reach 35.1°C on 26 May, well above the top of the entire historical grey envelope. Two dashed reference lines mark the previous Kew May record of 30.3°C set in 1922 and the all-time June record of 34.6°C set on 26 June 1976. The 2026 reading exceeds both, with the annotation noting it as a new Kew May record that also beats the all-time June record.
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Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 26/05/2026
To underscore this even even further, the June record – set during the 1976 heatwave – is only 0.5°C higher but was set over a month later (28 June). It is staggering to think what is now possible in June, in the current climate (let alone the future), following this record-shattering May heatwave
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Looks like the UK heatwave will be killed by thunderstorms. Emerging research, from our group and others, suggests the threshold for triggering convection (i.e., thunderstorms) may increase in a warming climate, potentially enabling very hot days to warm more rapidly.
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 25/05/2026
Today has been the hottest day in May on record with Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 34.8°C - exceeding the previous highest May temperature in the UK by a full 2 degrees Celsius🌡️ This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid summer, let alone in May📈
A map of the UK showing a temperature of 34.8 degrees Celsius, recorded in Kew Gardens, London on Monday 25 May 2026
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Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
The world has warmed 1.4 degrees since pre-industrial times. Warming has been faster over land, and particularly fast over Europe. All of which are fuelling UK temperatures in May of 34+ degrees, numbers that were unthinkable when I was born www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
bbc.co.uk
Bank Holiday Monday: Hottest May day on record expected in UK, with 34C forecast
The prospect of comfortably beating the current record (32.8C) is "bonkers", according to BBC Weather's Simon King.
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Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 22/05/2026
A pleasure to host @timwoollings.bsky.social, Ken Mylne, @hcbloomfield19.bsky.social & @drchriswhite.bsky.social yesterday for the annual @earthscista.bsky.social symposium, this year on "From dynamics to impacts: Weather in a warming world". Thank you all for visiting and giving such great talks!
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