Overview

• A 24-year satellite record reveals that storm cloud zones have contracted by 1.5% to 3% per decade between 2001 and 2024
• Researchers link the cloud decline to climate-driven wind shifts and a poleward expansion of the tropics
• The loss of reflective clouds has reduced sunlight deflection and intensified the warming effect of greenhouse gas emissions
• Scientists say the shrinking cloud cover likely helped drive the unprecedented global temperature spikes recorded in 2023 and 2024
• Key satellites from NASA and NOAA that supplied the data are nearing the end of their operational lives, prompting calls for immediate investment in Earth observation