From practical observation to scientific measurement, each stage of language reflects a different way of knowing the weather. Meteorological English is still evolving, just like the atmosphere itself. And as climate science and forecasting continue to advance, new words and meanings will emerge.

As atmospheric observation became systematic with the rise of modern science in the 17th and 18th centuries, scientists needed new terms and more precise meanings for existing terms to describe what they were measuring. The result was a surge of technical terms - many borrowed from Latin and Greek.

As English speakers travelled for exploration, trade, and colonial expansion, they encountered new climates, phenomena, and languages. Words describing unfamiliar climates and extreme events were borrowed and adapted. Weather words became linguistic souvenirs of contact between different societies.

In its earliest form, meteorological English was built for survival, not science. Words were grounded in what people could feel (wind, rain, storm). Early English speakers used experience-based vocabulary to describe the atmosphere - terms shaped by farming, sailing, and exposure to the elements.

By advancing knowledge of remote marine environments - regions that are currently under-observed but globally influential - the project represents a critical step toward more accurate climate forecasting.

In parallel, the team studied VOCs emitted from the ocean and how they affect the lifetime of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

A key focus of the work is sulfur chemistry, which plays a pivotal role in cloud formation. Marine sulfur compounds can contribute to aerosol production, influencing cloud reflectivity and lifetime - factors that are central to the Earth’s energy balance.

Researchers deployed an advanced suite of instruments onboard, housed in specialised containers across the ship. These measured a broad spectrum of atmospheric gases and aerosol particles, alongside ocean properties from the surface microlayer down to depths of 1000 metres.

By contributing scientific expertise to government assessments, NCAS researchers like Ioana and Akshay are making science accessible for policymakers and supporting evidence-based decision-making.

The report also highlights potential knock-on effects for global food supplies, including crops such as rice, coffee and cocoa, as well as added pressure on international energy markets.

While the impacts on UK weather are still uncertain, the assessment points to a higher chance of wetter, stormier conditions through autumn and early winter, followed by an increased risk of colder spells later in the season.

The roundtable found growing confidence that a significant El Niño is developing, with some forecasts suggesting it could be among the strongest ever observed.