Effects on climate thumb|right|Cumulus congestus clouds compared against a cumulonimbus cloud in the background Due to reflectivity, clouds cool the earth by around , an effect largely caused by stratocumulus clouds. However, at the same time, they heat the earth by around by reflecting emitted radiation, an effect largely caused by cirrus clouds. This averages out to a net loss of . Cumulus clouds, on the other hand, have a variable effect on heating the Earth's surface. The more vertical cumulus congestus species and cumulonimbus genus of clouds grow high into the atmosphere, carrying moisture with them, which can lead to the formation of cirrus clouds. The researchers speculated that this might even produce a positive feedback, where the increasing upper atmospheric moisture further warms the earth, resulting in an increasing number of cumulus congestus clouds carrying more moisture into the upper atmosphere.
Effects on climate thumb|right|Cumulus congestus clouds compared against a cumulonimbus cloud in the background Due to reflectivity, clouds cool the earth by around , an effect largely caused by stratocumulus clouds. However, at the same time, they .heat the e,arth by around by reflecting emitted radiation, an effect largely caused by cirrus cloud,s. This averages out to a net loss of . Cumulus clouds on the other hand, have a variable effect on heating the Earth's surface The more vertical cumulus congestus species and cumulonimbus genus of clouds grow high into the atmosphere, carrying moisture with them, which can lead to the formation of cirrus clouds. The researchers speculated that this might even produce a positive feedback where the increasing upper atmospheric moisture further warms the earth, resulting in an increasing number of cumulus congestus clouds carrying more moisture into the upper atmosphere.