Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to two climate experts and Italian theorist

The Nobel Physics Prize was awarded on Tuesday to US-Japanese scientist Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann of Germany and Giorgio Parisi of Italy for climate models and the understanding of physical systems.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 was awarded on Tuesday to two experts in the physical modelling of climate change: Syukuro Manabe (Japan/US), Klaus Hasselmann (Germany) and Giorgio Parisi (Italy). © AP/Pontus Lundahl

The Nobel committee has rewarded the development of models that have accurately predicted global warming.

In the 1960s, 90-year-old Syukuro Manabe demonstrated the physical principles that link the amount of carbon dioxyde in the atmosphere to rising temperatures. Klaus Hasselmann, 89, then developed the first climate models in the 1970s.

"Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann laid the foundation of our knowledge of the Earth's climate and how humanity influences it," the Nobel Committee said.

"Giorgio Parisi is rewarded for his revolutionary contributions to the theory of disordered materials and random processes," it added.

BREAKING NEWS:
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2021 #NobelPrize in Physics to Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi “for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems.” pic.twitter.com/At6ZeLmwa5

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2021

Their work also has implications for biology, neuroscience and even computer science.

The Nobel season continues on Wednesday with the award for chemistry, followed by the much-anticipated prizes for literature on Thursday and peace on Friday before the economics prize winds things up on 11 October.