#3-09 & #3-10 - Clouds, Atmosphere, and Climate Change Misconceptions  - ft. Prof. Dr. Bjorn Stevens
Channel: Max Planck PhDnet
Date: 2022-06-24

In this episode, Bea talks to Prof. Dr. Bjorn Stevens, managing director at Max Planck für Meteorologie and a director of The Atmosphere in the Earth System, about clouds and water vapour, and the effect they have on climate change.

In the first part, Bjorn talks about the reason why he decided to switch from electrical engineering to studying clouds and explains why clouds are relevant for climate change. He talks about greenhouse gases and describes what role different types of clouds play in the greenhouse effect and in controlling the temperature, as well as how the temperature, in turn, impacts cloud formation.
Bjorn explains absolute and relative humidity, the double-sided effects of air pollution, and factors that influence the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere.
Bjorn and Bea also discuss approaches to modelling climate change and the reliability of climate change models.

In the second part, they focus on climate change and discuss in great detail some of the most common misconceptions surrounding the topic. They talk about extreme effects of the weather, the difference between 1.5 and 2 degree increase in global temperature, the current state and future prospects of nuclear power, using solar and wind power to create energy, and more.
Bjorn also talks about his view on the way climate change is treated by the media and politicians and shares his outlook for the future.

To learn more about Prof. Dr. Stevens and his research, visit: https://mpimet.mpg.de/en/staff/bjorn-stevens/

Episode Art: Photo by Dominik Schröder (@wirhabenzeit) on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/)

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