ECMWF heating rates support PHILEAS aircraft campaign

The German research aircraft HALO has provided valuable contributions to research into the effects of the Asian Summer Monsoon and wildfires in Canada on climate. Between August and October 2023, HALO was involved in the PHILEAS mission. A team of researchers coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany) has been investigating the impacts of the Asian Summer Monsoon on global climate. Heating rates from ECMWF operational forecasts were used to help determine the best possible locations for the flight paths. The wealth of exceptional data collected will allow profound insights into how the Asian Summer Monsoon and so-called pyroconvection transport airborne pollutants. With regard to the latter, large-scale fires of the type seen in Canada generate powerful convection currents and also pyrocumulonimbus or thunderstorm clouds.