International Journal of Climatology

International Journal of Climatology
Title	International Journal of Climatology
Discipline	Climatology
Abbreviation	Int. J. Climatol.
Publisher	Wiley-Blackwell
Country	United Kingdom
History	1981–present
Frequency	Monthly
Impact	4.6
Impact-year	2023
Issn	0899-8418
Eissn	1097-0088

International Journal of Climatology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on Climatology and related aspects of Atmospheric science, Meteorology, Paleoclimatology, and Climate change studies. Established in 1981 and published by Wiley-Blackwell, the journal publishes original research, reviews, and technical notes that address observational, theoretical, and modeling approaches used in regional to global climate investigations. The journal serves researchers engaged with institutions such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Met Office, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and academic departments across universities like University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley.

History

The journal was founded in 1981 during a period that featured active debates following publications by researchers linked to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and research centers such as Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Early editors coordinated work with professional societies including the Royal Meteorological Society and partnerships involving American Meteorological Society, European Geosciences Union, International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, and national academies like the Royal Society and National Academy of Sciences. Over time editorial policy adapted to incorporate advances from projects such as CMIP and initiatives by World Meteorological Organization and Global Climate Observing System.

Scope and topics

The journal covers topics spanning observational networks and data assimilation used by European Space Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Japan Meteorological Agency; numerical modeling frameworks from groups at Princeton University, NCAR, University of Reading, and University of Tokyo; paleoclimate reconstructions informed by work at British Antarctic Survey, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, ETH Zurich, and University of Bern; and applied studies related to impacts assessed by United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Specific subjects include regional climate variability observed in North Atlantic Oscillation, El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation studies; attribution analyses following methods from Mary Robinson-era policy dialogues; and interdisciplinary syntheses that connect to programs like Climate and Clean Air Coalition and Global Carbon Project.

Editorial board and publication process

The editorial board comprises senior scientists affiliated with institutions such as Columbia University, University of Toronto, University of Melbourne, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Indian Institute of Science, and University of Cape Town, and has historically included contributors associated with awards like the Nobel Prize (through IPCC affiliations), Vetlesen Prize, and Balzan Prize. Manuscripts undergo double-blind or single-blind peer review coordinated by subject editors with expertise in areas represented by centers such as Met Office Hadley Centre, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and CSIRO. The journal accepts original research articles, review articles, technical notes, and special issues guest-edited in collaboration with conference organizers from events like the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, European Geosciences Union General Assembly, and International Conference on Climate Change.

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is indexed in major databases and services including Science Citation Index, Scopus, GeoRef, Geographical Abstracts, and inclusion in platforms used by libraries such as British Library, Library of Congress, National Science Library (China), and consortia like JSTOR and Project MUSE for archival discovery. Metrics and citation tracking reference services such as Clarivate Analytics, Google Scholar, PubMed Central (for cross-disciplinary content), and CrossRef DOI registration facilitate discoverability for researchers at organizations like OECD, World Bank Group, and national funding agencies including NSF and European Research Council.

Impact and reception

The journal's impact factor, citation patterns, and role in shaping climate research have been evaluated alongside periodicals such as Journal of Climate, Climate Dynamics, Nature Climate Change, Geophysical Research Letters, and Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Influential assessments and reviews citing work from the journal appear in policy documents by IPCC, technical reports from World Meteorological Organization, and synthesis articles in venues like Nature, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The journal has been both praised for methodological rigor in studies associated with CMIP6 analyses and critiqued in discussions about reproducibility and open data advocated by groups like Open Science Framework and Research Data Alliance.

Notable articles and contributions

Notable contributions include methodological advances in downscaling connected to work by researchers at University of Washington and ETH Zurich, attribution studies used in high-profile assessments by IPCC Working Groups, paleoclimate reconstructions citing cores from Greenland Ice Sheet Project and EPICA, and observational syntheses that integrated datasets from Argo floats, GRACE satellite missions, and TRMM rainfall measurements. Articles from the journal have informed regional impact assessments used by national agencies such as Environment Canada, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and India Meteorological Department, and have been cited in interdisciplinary syntheses by organizations including United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Global Framework for Climate Services.

Category:Climatology journals