We admire them as much as we fear them, chase them and dedicate poetry to them. Clouds, a source of endless fascination for the public and inspiration for artists, are also a focus of scientific attention. They are crucial in determining the trajectory of climate change. While some, such as stratus, cirrus and cumulonimbus clouds, have always been challenging to model, their evolution as the Earth warms further complicates predictions.

"To what extent will clouds amplify climate change? This is one of the main uncertainties in climate projections," said Sandrine Bony, a research director with the French National Center for Scientific Research at the Dynamic Meteorology Laboratory (LMD). Recent studies have reignited these questions, attributing a significant contribution to clouds in the record-breaking global heatwaves experienced almost continuously since 2023.

These clusters of water droplets or ice crystals form when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses once a saturation point is reached. "This most often occurs when air cools as it rises, for example, over mountain ranges," explained Jean-Louis Dufresne, also a research director at the LMD.

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