Cloud Collapse: shrinking Cloud Cover Amplifies Climate Crisis, Driving Record Temperatures
June 19, 2025 – A concerning new study reveals a meaningful decline in cloud cover, particularly in areas crucial for reflecting solar energy, possibly exacerbating the climate crisis and explaining the unprecedented global temperature spikes seen in 2023 and 2024. Scientists from NASA and leading universities have identified a shrinking of reflective cloud areas at higher latitudes, near the poles, by 1.5% too 3% per decade over the last 24 years.
This reduction in cloud cover is not merely an observation; it’s a potential key to understanding why the planet has experienced such dramatic warming. Clouds play a vital, complex role in Earth’s energy balance, both reflecting sunlight and trapping heat. However, the net effect of clouds is cooling, meaning less cloud cover translates to more heat retention [[source]].
“The models have predicted these changes in major wind systems so it’s not a surprise this shift is happening,” explains Prof. Christian Jakob of Monash University, a co-author of the research. The study points to shifting wind patterns
