The Climate System and Global Warming Reading of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics

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  •  Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Received date: 2021-11-14

  Revised date: 2021-11-15

  Online published: 2022-03-02

Abstract

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to two climatologists and a theoretical physicist “for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems”. Many of us would be surprised why two climatologists win the Nobel Prize in Physics. Here I present you my reading of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics, by addressing the following aspects: why is the climate system is called a complex physical system? The global greenhouse warming in the past century and possible future warming. The physical basis and brief history of global greenhouse warming. What are the contributions of the two climatologists, based on physical principles, to modeling of Earth climate, quantifying climate variability, reliably predicting global warming, and detecting and attributing global warming to anthropogenic activity.

Cite this article

HU Yong⁃yun . The Climate System and Global Warming Reading of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics[J]. College Physics, 2022 , 41(2) : 1 . DOI: 10.16854 / j.cnki.1000-0712.210557

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