Rate My Professor Laura Wilcox

Professor Laura Wilcox is the Professor of Aerosol-Climate Interactions at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) within the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. Her research specializes in the impact of atmospheric aerosol on climate and climate change, with a focus on the response of large-scale circulation to regional radiative forcing and the climate impact of aviation. She explores the role of anthropogenic aerosols in regional climate change, including the links between black carbon emissions and alterations in mean and extreme rainfall patterns in Africa and Asia via the BlackRain project. Additional projects encompass CATHY, examining climate implications of rapid reductions in Asian anthropogenic aerosol emissions on temperature, the hydrological cycle, and variability; CleanCloud, assessing aerosol influences on climate during transitions to cleaner air, particularly in regions distant from sources; MACLOUD, involving multi-scale modelling for marine cloud brightening strategies to minimize regional climate impacts; OUTBREAK, investigating drivers of extended and severe monsoon breaks and their role in heat extremes and poor air quality; and TerraFIRMA, addressing climate mitigation strategies, risks of overshooting global warming targets, near-future changes in anthropogenic aerosol emissions, and air quality co-benefits. As co-chair of the Regional Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project (RAMIP), she quantifies the role of anthropogenic aerosols in near-term climate projections under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, analyzing sensitivities to aerosol type, location, forcing strength, and climate processes.

Laura Wilcox's influential publications include 'The contribution of global aviation to anthropogenic climate forcing for 2000 to 2018' (Atmospheric Environment, 2021), 'Advances in understanding large-scale responses of the water cycle to climate change' (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2020), 'Aerosol-forced AMOC changes in CMIP6 historical simulations' (Geophysical Research Letters, 2020), and recent works such as 'East Asian aerosol cleanup has likely contributed to the recent acceleration in global warming' (Communications Earth & Environment, 2025), 'Aerosol-cloud interactions: overcoming a barrier to projecting near-term climate evolution and risk' (AGU Advances, 2026), and contributions to high-impact low-likelihood climate scenarios for UK risk assessment (Earth's Future, 2025). Her research has advanced comprehension of aerosol effects on monsoons, the North Atlantic climate system, surface temperature trends, and precipitation responses, informing air quality co-benefits and climate risk assessments.