By Sushant Agarwal
Published on | Jun 23, 2025
New NASA-led research shows that changes in cloud cover may be increasing Earth’s warming beyond expectations.
Bright clouds reflect sunlight away from Earth, acting like a natural cooling system in our atmosphere.
Recent global temperature spikes have been higher than what most climate models had forecast.
Scientists from NASA’s Goddard Institute found that shifts in cloud coverage may be amplifying the heat.
Highly reflective white clouds, especially near the equator, are covering less area than before.
Less reflective, broken clouds are increasing—especially in the expanding subtropical regions.
With fewer bright clouds, more solar energy is reaching and warming the Earth’s surface.
Warming is changing large-scale wind patterns, which affects where clouds form and how they behave.
Cloud loss leads to more heat, which alters winds and clouds further—accelerating the warming process.
NASA and climate scientists continue using satellite data to study clouds and Earth’s energy balance.