International interest in fog research at IMKASF

Dr. Eva Pauli (SKL) had the opportunity to discuss her current research on fog in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) and NASA's Earth Observatory blog.

Following a period of high fog occurrence in central Europe in late October 2024, the NZZ published an article exploring fog trends, influencing factors, and their regional impacts, with a focus on Switzerland and southern Germany. A key takeaway from the article was the observed decline in fog frequency, particularly in Switzerland and other parts of Europe. In the interview within the article, Eva Pauli noted that while increasing temperatures and improving air quality are likely the main factors contributing to this trend, their contributions remain to be fully quantified.

Fog is also a recurring phenomenon in the Po Valley in northern Italy—one of the most polluted regions in central Europe. The NASA Earth Observatory blog “Image of the day“ highlighted a large-scale long-lasting Po-Valley fog event from November 16, 2024 (see accompanying image). In the blog, Dr. Pauli points to high aerosol loadings as one cause for more persistent fog in the Po Valley, a finding of a recent article by her (alongside Prof. Dr. Jan Cermak, and colleagues from Marburg and Oxford) in Geophysical Research Letters.

NZZ Artikel: https://www.nzz.ch/wissenschaft/nebel-wird-im-seltener-aber-im-moment-hilft-nur-die-flucht-nach-oben-ld.1855405

NASA observatory Blogeintrag: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/153599/a-hazy-foggy-day-in-italys-po-valley

GRL Artikel: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2024GL111490