Articles | Volume 2, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-581-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-581-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
12 Jul 2021
Research article |
| 12 Jul 2021
| 12 Jul 2021
An unsupervised learning approach to identifying blocking events: the case of European summer
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2BW, UK
Apostolos Voulgarakis
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2BW, UK
School of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Crete, 73100, Greece
Gerald Lim
Centre for Climate Research Singapore, 36 Kim Chuan Road, 537054, Singapore
Joanna Haigh
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2BW, UK
Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Peer Nowack
Department of Physics, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2BW, UK
Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK
Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
Data Science Institute, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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Cited
14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Atmospheric circulation compounds anthropogenic warming and impacts of climate extremes in Europe D. Faranda et al. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2214525120
- Transient anticyclonic eddies and their relationship to atmospheric block persistence C. Suitters et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-683-2023
- Opinion: Why all emergent constraints are wrong but some are useful – a machine learning perspective P. Nowack & D. Watson-Parris https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2365-2025
- Predictability of North Pacific blocking events: Analogue‐based analysis of historical MIROC6 simulations A. Xavier et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.70104
- Linking subtropical jet persistence to early-spring heat events in South and West Asia A. Banerjee et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ae5417
- Identifying the onset and decay of quasi-stationary families of almost-invariant sets with an application to atmospheric blocking events A. Badza & G. Froyland https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0225848
- Characteristics of tornadoes in eastern China while a Northeast China cold vortex occurring and its influence S. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108549
- Cold wintertime air masses over Europe: where do they come from and how do they form? T. Nygård et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-943-2023
- Trends and variability of heat waves in Europe and the association with large-scale circulation patterns L. Boboc et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2025.100794
- Sixfold Increase in Historical Northern Hemisphere Concurrent Large Heatwaves Driven by Warming and Changing Atmospheric Circulations C. Rogers et al. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0200.1
- Heatwaves in Hong Kong and their influence on pollution and extreme precipitation C. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107845
- Physical mechanism of the rapid increase in intense and long-lived extreme heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere since 1980 Y. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1332-x
- Spatiotemporal Detection and Uncertainty Visualization of Atmospheric Blocking Events M. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2026.3694459
- Weather type reconstruction using machine learning approaches L. Pfister et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-571-2025
14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Atmospheric circulation compounds anthropogenic warming and impacts of climate extremes in Europe D. Faranda et al. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2214525120
- Transient anticyclonic eddies and their relationship to atmospheric block persistence C. Suitters et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-683-2023
- Opinion: Why all emergent constraints are wrong but some are useful – a machine learning perspective P. Nowack & D. Watson-Parris https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2365-2025
- Predictability of North Pacific blocking events: Analogue‐based analysis of historical MIROC6 simulations A. Xavier et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.70104
- Linking subtropical jet persistence to early-spring heat events in South and West Asia A. Banerjee et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ae5417
- Identifying the onset and decay of quasi-stationary families of almost-invariant sets with an application to atmospheric blocking events A. Badza & G. Froyland https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0225848
- Characteristics of tornadoes in eastern China while a Northeast China cold vortex occurring and its influence S. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108549
- Cold wintertime air masses over Europe: where do they come from and how do they form? T. Nygård et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-943-2023
- Trends and variability of heat waves in Europe and the association with large-scale circulation patterns L. Boboc et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2025.100794
- Sixfold Increase in Historical Northern Hemisphere Concurrent Large Heatwaves Driven by Warming and Changing Atmospheric Circulations C. Rogers et al. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0200.1
- Heatwaves in Hong Kong and their influence on pollution and extreme precipitation C. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107845
- Physical mechanism of the rapid increase in intense and long-lived extreme heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere since 1980 Y. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1332-x
- Spatiotemporal Detection and Uncertainty Visualization of Atmospheric Blocking Events M. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2026.3694459
- Weather type reconstruction using machine learning approaches L. Pfister et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-571-2025
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 03 Jul 2026
Short summary
Atmospheric blocking events are complex large-scale weather patterns which block the path of the jet stream. They are associated with heat waves in summer and cold snaps in winter. Blocking is poorly understood, and the effect of climate change is not clear. Here, we present a new method to study blocking using unsupervised machine learning. We show that this method performs better than previous methods used. These results show the potential for unsupervised learning in atmospheric science.
Atmospheric blocking events are complex large-scale weather patterns which block the path of the...
