What You're Looking At
This page shows a snapshot of global cloud measurements from satellites at a specific point in time.
These maps show:
- Cloud Optical Thickness: How "thick" or "dense" clouds are across the globe. Darker colors mean thicker clouds that block more sunlight.
- Cloud Cover: What percentage of each region is covered by clouds. You can see how cloud cover varies by latitude and region.
- Cloud Top Temperature: How cold the cloud tops are, which tells us how high they are (colder = higher altitude).
- Cloud Top Pressure: Another measure of cloud altitude (lower pressure = higher altitude).
- Water Path: How much water is in the clouds - heavier clouds contain more water.
What you can learn:
- Tropical regions (near the equator) typically have thicker, higher clouds
- Cloud patterns vary dramatically by season and location
- Satellites measure all these properties simultaneously across the entire globe
Key Finding: These global snapshots demonstrate that satellites can and do measure cloud properties everywhere on Earth, including thickness, altitude, and water content - refuting claims that such measurements are impossible.
Data Source: NOAA ISCCP D2 Dataset