<blockquote>
  <p>The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the more global warming. The more global warming the more cloud formations that cool the earth [...]</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The effect of clouds on global warming is highly uncertain. The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">5th IPCC report</a> states the following in this regard:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The sign of the net radiative feedback due to all cloud types is less certain but likely positive. Uncertainty in the sign and magnitude of the cloud feedback is due primarily to continuing uncertainty in the impact of warming on low clouds.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Your statement continues:  </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[...] and clean the air from carbon dioxid when rain- and snowfall.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is a wrong or misleading statement. Although given that CO2 dissolves in water, for sure some CO2 is washed out with every rain shower, this does not significantly affect the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This is also reflected in the relatively long residence time of CO2 in the atmosphere. This <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jan/16/greenhouse-gases-remain-air" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Guardian article</a> states it as follows:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The lifetime in the air of CO2, the most significant man-made greenhouse gas, is probably the most difficult to determine, because there are several processes that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Between 65% and 80% of CO2 released into the air dissolves into the ocean over a period of 20–200 years. The rest is removed by slower processes that take up to several hundreds of thousands of years, including chemical weathering and rock formation. This means that once in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide can continue to affect climate for thousands of years.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I think you need to significantly reformulate your original post, starting by taking out the false statements.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T12:20:50.250Z
Thanks for responding! I will look at your answer.
Lehs
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T13:33:04.007Z
"The sign of the net radiative feedback *due to all cloud types* is less certain" is really a weird sentence concerning the way they simulate clouds in computer models. In the climate of today! Since I'm from Sweden, having two different types of summer climates: the cold and wet maritime and the dry and warm continental climate, it would be nice to hear those scientists explain were the warming energy goes from the clouds our cold summers. Scientist could easily show politicians how alarming the situation is but prefer to attract the taxpayers money for their carriers as model builders.
Lehs
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T13:50:46.843Z
Now you are changing topic very quickly. Here we should discuss about earth science. If you do not agree with the way that public money is spent, this is maybe something to discuss on one of the other SE webpages (politics?). But independent of where the discussion takes place, please come with back-upped arguments and avoid false statements.
Basileios
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T13:52:34.053Z
Very good! But I'm not going to change my *question*.
Lehs
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T13:59:03.817Z
That's your choice. At the moment I don't find your question particularly helpful to the community, which is a pity.
Basileios
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T14:06:27.683Z
@Lehs clouds trap heat both ways.   They lead to colder days but warmer nights.  That's why the net effect if clouds is mixed and often difficult to estimate.   I'm also not certain why you think more CO2 means more clouds.   It might be the opposite.  Here's an article that suggests CO2 could reduce the cooling effect of clouds, though it's a higher PPM CO2 than we're likely to see this century.    https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2019/02/27/high-atmospheric-CO2-stratocumulus-clouds-climate-change-scientists/stories/201902270145
userLTK
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-09T13:02:50.027Z
@Lehs - How and whether clouds affect surface temperatures depends a lot on the nature of and altitude of the clouds. Perhaps overly simplistic, high clouds tend to enhance global warming; it's only low clouds that might have a negative effect.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T11:44:38.187Z
2019-05-08T11:44:38.187Z
Basileios
<p>The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the more global warming. The more global warming the more cloud formations that cool the earth and clean the air from carbon dioxid when rain- and snowfall, in a very longtime perspective. </p>

<p>Sooner or later the cloud formations will reach a point of equilibrium when global warming cease in a state of much more clouds, much more and stronger storms. When global cooling and decrease of carbon dioxide, the glaciation will increase the albedo and support the global cooling with amplifying feedback, as atmospheric carbon dioxid support global warming with amplifying feedback.</p>

<p>This seems to be in accordance with the historical peaks of temperature anomalies and carbon dioxide rates. The question is, does this mechanism works in the industrial era? Will the storms, if necessary, stop the extra  emissions of carbon dioxide? If human being isn't able to cut it down?</p>

<hr>

<p>I can't change the question as that may make answers inadequate, but I will formulate your criticism under the line, eventually.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Simulations doesn't attests that clouds in general have a netto cooling effect.</p></li>
<li><p>Rain and snow doesn't transport a significant amount of <span class="math-container">$\mathbf{CO_2}$</span> from the atmosphere to the ground in a short term perspective.</p></li>
<li><p>The prediction doesn't refer to the equilibrium 
<span class="math-container">$\mathbf{CO_2+H_2O}\rightleftharpoons\mathbf{H_2CO_3}$</span> in the oceans.</p></li>
<li><p>The prediction doesn't refer to the effect of <span class="math-container">$\mathbf{CO_2}$</span> on formation of clouds or it's influence of the cooling effect of clouds.</p></li>
<li><p>The prediction doesn't refer to water vapor as a greenhouse gas and that clouds are condensed vapor.</p></li>
<li><p>The prediction doesn't refer to different types of clouds.</p></li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T07:25:01.250Z
Depends on whether we cross a tipping point, after which the whole process becomes a run-away-greenhouse-effect - just have a look at Venus. Funny thing is, we don't know beforehand, where these tipping points are.
Erik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T07:29:29.890Z
Cooling water, which is heating up at an alarming rate.
Erik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T07:40:27.657Z
And store less CO2. And flood coastal areas. And kill off reefs.
Erik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T08:04:18.123Z
@Erik. That may have happen in all historical peaks. There is a lot of dying involved in life. Think about the disaster that killed the large dinosaurs and reshaped their genome to that of today's birds that eat bread crumbs from our hands.
Lehs
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T17:26:26.060Z
First, a factor you've apparently overlooked is that water vapor is itself a greenhouse gas, so the effect of that might outweigh any cooling effect from clouds.  Second, it's not entirely certain that clouds would have an overall cooling effect.  From observation, a cloudless night is likely to be cooler than a cloudy one.
jamesqf
<meteorology><climatology><human-influence><glaciation><global-weirding>
How to improve this prediction about the climate in future?
Lehs
# How to improve this prediction about the climate in future?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-08)

The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the more global warming. The more global warming the more cloud formations that cool the earth and clean the air from carbon dioxid when rain- and snowfall, in a very longtime perspective.

Sooner or later the cloud formations will reach a point of equilibrium when global warming cease in a state of much more clouds, much more and stronger storms. When global cooling and decrease of carbon dioxide, the glaciation will increase the albedo and support the global cooling with amplifying feedback, as atmospheric carbon dioxid support global warming with amplifying feedback.

This seems to be in accordance with the historical peaks of temperature anomalies and carbon dioxide rates. The question is, does this mechanism works in the industrial era? Will the storms, if necessary, stop the extra emissions of carbon dioxide? If human being isn't able to cut it down?

---

I can't change the question as that may make answers inadequate, but I will formulate your criticism under the line, eventually.

1. Simulations doesn't attests that clouds in general have a netto cooling effect.
2. Rain and snow doesn't transport a significant amount of $\mathbf{CO\_2}$ from the atmosphere to the ground in a short term perspective.
3. The prediction doesn't refer to the equilibrium
   $\mathbf{CO\_2+H\_2O}\rightleftharpoons\mathbf{H\_2CO\_3}$ in the oceans.
4. The prediction doesn't refer to the effect of $\mathbf{CO\_2}$ on formation of clouds or it's influence of the cooling effect of clouds.
5. The prediction doesn't refer to water vapor as a greenhouse gas and that clouds are condensed vapor.
6. The prediction doesn't refer to different types of clouds.

**Tags:** meteorology, climatology, human-influence, glaciation, global-weirding

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Depends on whether we cross a tipping point, after which the whole process becomes a run-away-greenhouse-effect - just have a look at Venus. Funny thing is, we don't know beforehand, where these tipping points are.  
> **username_1**: Cooling water, which is heating up at an alarming rate.  
> **username_1**: And store less CO2. And flood coastal areas. And kill off reefs.  
> **username_0**: @username_1. That may have happen in all historical peaks. There is a lot of dying involved in life. Think about the disaster that killed the large dinosaurs and reshaped their genome to that of today's birds that eat bread crumbs from our hands.  
> **username_2**: First, a factor you've apparently overlooked is that water vapor is itself a greenhouse gas, so the effect of that might outweigh any cooling effect from clouds.  Second, it's not entirely certain that clouds would have an overall cooling effect.  From observation, a cloudless night is likely to be cooler than a cloudy one.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-05-08. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

> The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the more global warming. The more global warming the more cloud formations that cool the earth [...]

The effect of clouds on global warming is highly uncertain. The [5th IPCC report](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/) states the following in this regard:

> The sign of the net radiative feedback due to all cloud types is less certain but likely positive. Uncertainty in the sign and magnitude of the cloud feedback is due primarily to continuing uncertainty in the impact of warming on low clouds.

Your statement continues:

> [...] and clean the air from carbon dioxid when rain- and snowfall.

This is a wrong or misleading statement. Although given that CO2 dissolves in water, for sure some CO2 is washed out with every rain shower, this does not significantly affect the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This is also reflected in the relatively long residence time of CO2 in the atmosphere. This [Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jan/16/greenhouse-gases-remain-air) states it as follows:

> The lifetime in the air of CO2, the most significant man-made greenhouse gas, is probably the most difficult to determine, because there are several processes that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Between 65% and 80% of CO2 released into the air dissolves into the ocean over a period of 20–200 years. The rest is removed by slower processes that take up to several hundreds of thousands of years, including chemical weathering and rock formation. This means that once in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide can continue to affect climate for thousands of years.

I think you need to significantly reformulate your original post, starting by taking out the false statements.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for responding! I will look at your answer.  
> **username_0**: "The sign of the net radiative feedback *due to all cloud types* is less certain" is really a weird sentence concerning the way they simulate clouds in computer models. In the climate of today! Since I'm from Sweden, having two different types of summer climates: the cold and wet maritime and the dry and warm continental climate, it would be nice to hear those scientists explain were the warming energy goes from the clouds our cold summers. Scientist could easily show politicians how alarming the situation is but prefer to attract the taxpayers money for their carriers as model builders.  
> **username_3**: Now you are changing topic very quickly. Here we should discuss about earth science. If you do not agree with the way that public money is spent, this is maybe something to discuss on one of the other SE webpages (politics?). But independent of where the discussion takes place, please come with back-upped arguments and avoid false statements.  
> **username_0**: Very good! But I'm not going to change my *question*.  
> **username_3**: That's your choice. At the moment I don't find your question particularly helpful to the community, which is a pity.  
> **username_4**: @username_0 clouds trap heat both ways.   They lead to colder days but warmer nights.  That's why the net effect if clouds is mixed and often difficult to estimate.   I'm also not certain why you think more CO2 means more clouds.   It might be the opposite.  Here's an article that suggests CO2 could reduce the cooling effect of clouds, though it's a higher PPM CO2 than we're likely to see this century.    https://www.post-gazette.com/news/environment/2019/02/27/high-atmospheric-CO2-stratocumulus-clouds-climate-change-scientists/stories/201902270145  
> **username_5**: @username_0 - How and whether clouds affect surface temperatures depends a lot on the nature of and altitude of the clouds. Perhaps overly simplistic, high clouds tend to enhance global warming; it's only low clouds that might have a negative effect.  

---

