Clouds play multiple critical roles in the climate system and diurnal cycle. In particular, being bright objects in the visible part of the solar spectrum, they efficiently reflect light to space and thus contribute to the … See more

Cloud cover values only vary by 3% from year-to-year averages, whereas the local, day-to-day variability in cloud amounts typically rises to 30% over the globe. Land is generally covered by 10-15% less cloud than the oceans, because the seas are covered with water, … See more

Although clouds can exist within a wide range of altitudes, typical cloud cover has a base at approximately 4,000m and extends up to an altitude of about 5,000m. Clouds height can … See more

• NSDL.arm.gov, Glossary of Atmospheric Terms, From the National Science Digital Library's Atmospheric Visualization Collection.
• Earthobersvatory.nasa.gov, Monthly maps of global cloud cover from NASA's Earth Observatory See more