Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a renowned Indian American climate scientist at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Crafoord Prize — one of the world’s most prestigious science awards.
The Crafoord Prize is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Foundation in Lund, Sweden. Ramanathan will receive the eight million Swedish kronor (about $900,000) prize during the “Crafoord Days” events, held in Lund and Stockholm from May 18-20, 2026, according to a university release.
Ramanathan said he was “speechless and humbled” to learn he had been selected for the award, noting how meaningful it is for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to recognize climate research at a time when the field has increasingly become a matter of debate.
“This prize, since it is given by the same science academy that gives the Nobel Prize, is an overwhelming confirmation that climate science is based on fundamental scientific principles backed by impeccable observations,” said Ramanathan, a distinguished professor emeritus of atmospheric and climate sciences at Scripps Oceanography.
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The prize committee cited Ramanathan’s valuable contributions to science, highlighting his research that has advanced our understanding of how aerosol particles and other climate pollutants influence the atmospheric energy balance and the Earth system. This knowledge is crucial for understanding as well as combatting climate warming.
“He has expanded our view of how humankind is affecting the atmosphere’s composition, the climate and air quality, and how these three interact,” said Ilona Riipinen, professor of atmospheric sciences at Stockholm University and member of the Crafoord Prize Committee for Geosciences.
Ramanathan was born in 1944 in Chennai, India, and received his PhD in 1974 from the State University of New York in the United States.
In 1975, he discovered the super-greenhouse effect of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) — chemicals such as freons used in refrigerators and spray cans — showing that they are about 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping thermal energy, also known as infrared radiation.
This finding revealed atmospheric chemistry to be a major component of the climate system and paved the way for discoveries of additional “super pollutants,” such as methane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and nitrous oxide.
As early as the 1980s, Ramanathan played an important role in NASA’s use of satellites to measure Earth’s energy budget — the balance between energy from the sun that reaches Earth in the form of radiation and the heat that Earth then emits back into space.
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Perturbations of this energy balance at the top of the atmosphere caused by pollutants lead to changes in climate. These measurements showed that greenhouse gases from human activities are trapping an increasing proportion of re-radiated energy in the atmosphere, contributing to the warming of the climate.
Ramanathan joined Scripps Oceanography in 1990, having already earned a reputation as a leading climate scientist. His research at Scripps explored how HFCs, the replacement for CFCs, affect not only the ozone layer but the climate as well, and he continued to investigate various forms of atmospheric aerosols.
In a large experiment in the Indian Ocean, Ramanathan and his colleagues observed high levels of air pollution, even far out at sea. They found that some of these dark aerosols, such as soot particles, absorb radiation and can contribute to significant heating of the atmosphere and the dimming of sunlight at the surface, thus impacting the hydrological cycle.
He also showed that these soot particles are a major factor in the melting of Himalayan glaciers. This research has had a significant impact and formed the basis for international agreements, including efforts to reduce short-lived climate pollutants through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition led by the United Nations Environment Programme.
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Over the course of his career, Ramanathan has also influenced many people, from politicians to popes. In 2004, he was named to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by Pope John Paul II, and in this capacity, has served four popes, including Pope Leo.
He was honoured as the science advisor to Pope Francis’ Holy See delegation at the historic 2015 Paris climate summit and also advised former California Governor Jerry Brown.
In addition to his scientific research, Ramanathan worked with UC San Diego Professor Fonna Forman to develop and launch “Bending the Curve,” a University of California-led educational initiative that teaches climate literacy and scalable solutions to people of all ages and educational backgrounds.
Ramanathan has been widely recognized for his contributions to climate science. He has been elected to both the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and in 2013, was named a UN Climate Champion.
In 2018, he shared the Tang Prize in Sustainable Development with fellow climate scientist James Hansen, and in 2021, he received the Blue Planet Prize, an international environmental award.