Imperfect climate models can still help us immensely, Yale says

The fight against climate change is ongoing, and while we’re still a long way from finding an actually sustainable solution, researchers at Yale say that imperfect climate models may actually be far more helpful than many think.

While the UN has warned time and again that we’re losing control of climate change, a lot of the research into how the world is changing and temperatures are rising has remained a bit of a mystery itself. That’s because no matter how hard we work on it, we always seem to come up with models that don’t quite line up.

In fact, some have even said that what’s happening on Earth right now can’t be explained by climate models. So, where does that leave us? Well, according to scientists at Yale, those imperfect climate models are actually giving scientists very important information to work with.

That’s because when you have highly idealized models, they don’t bother to take into account all of the information, like every gust of wind, ever drop of rain, etc. Instead, they take a broader look at everything. This broader look lets scientists focus on the more abstract aspects of climate change, instead of having to worry about the minute details all the time.

Of course, there’s still something to be said for those more detailed models, but even an imperfect model that is too broad can provide useful information for scientists to build on. The downside here is that if we always have imperfect models, how much progress are we actually making overall? The answer, the Yale scientists say, is that models must be built for a purpose.

Without a purpose, we aren’t going to be able to hone in on the issues. The challenge, though, is making a model that is actually fit for purpose. Without that purpose, we’re just consistently creating imperfect models that eventually will cease to teach us anything.

You can read more about the scientist’s arguments in a post shared to Yale Climate Connections. It’s an eye-opening read for anyone trying to keep up with the latest in our fight against climate change.