Indian-origin scientist wins Crafoord Prize in Geosciences

Indian-origin climate scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan has been awarded the 2026 Crafoord Prize in Geosciences by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

- Press Trust of India

Often described as the “Nobel of Geosciences,” the prize recognises Ramanathan’s decades of research on super-pollutants and atmospheric brown clouds, which have reshaped understanding of global warming.

Ramanathan, 82, made a landmark discovery in 1975 while working at NASA: chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), widely used in aerosols and refrigeration, trap heat in the atmosphere up to 10,000 times more effectively than carbon dioxide.