Physics Nobel for climate modelling, work on complex systems

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 has been awarded to Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi "for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems."

One half was awarded jointly to Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann "for the physical modelling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming" - and the other half to Giorgio Parisi "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales."

Manabe, 90, is a Japanese meteorologist and climatologist who pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change.

Hasselmann, 89, is a German physicist who worked extensively on oceanography, meteorology and climate. he is the founder of the European Climate Forum, which later morphed into the Global Climate Forum. The Berlin-based organisation conducts high-level research on climate change and related global challenges.

Parisi is a 73-year-old Italian theoretical physicist who studied the field of elementary particles, mathematical physics, string theory and disordered systems.

The prestigious prize is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.15 million) and is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.