Aristotle’s Meteorologica: Meteorology Then and Now

Anastasios Tsonis is an Emeritus Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and an Adjunct Research Scientist at the Hydrologic Research Center in San Diego, CA. ; Christos Zerefos is Head of the Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the Universities of Athens and Thessaloniki, and Visiting Professor at the Universities of Boston, Minnesota and Oslo.

• Prolegomena ; Introduction: about Aristotle ; His life ; His works ; BOOK A FROM ΜΕΤΕΩΡΟΛΟΓΙΚΑ ; Aristotle’s universe with a glimpse on climate change ; Meteorology now, part 1 ; Analogies and contrasts ; Key points of meteorology now, part 1 ; Back to Aristotle’s Meteorologica ; Meteorology now, part 2 ; Key points of meteorology now, part 2 ; Analogies and contrasts ; Back to Aristotle’s Meteorologica ; BOOK B FROM ΜΕΤΕΩΡΟΛΟΓΙΚΑ ; On winds ; Stormy weather ; Meteorology now, part 3 ; Key points of meteorology now, part 3 ; Back to Aristotle’s Meteorologica ; BOOK C FROM ΜΕΤΕΩΡΟΛΟΓΙΚΑ ; Aristotle’s opticsPreparatory introduction ; Aristotle’s general theory of colour ; The halo ; Rainbow ; Sun dogs and light pillars ; Aurora Borealis ; BOOK D FROM ΜΕΤΕΩΡΟΛΟΓΙΚΑ ; Aristotle’s notion on thermodynamic equilibrium ; Concluding remarks ; Appendix I: Aristotle’s poem ‘Ode to Virtue’ ; Appendix II: Aristotle on climate change

'[Aristotle's] explanation of climate change and natural variability [is[ remarkable. Through sound logic – based on the resources available to him at the time – and keen observation, Aristotle made more progress in meteorology than was made in the entire millennium that followed his thesis. Overall, this [book] serves as an interesting and pertinent reminder of how atmospheric science has evolved from Aristotle’s time to today.' - Leilani Dulguerov and Jürg Luterbacher, WMO Secretariat (2022), Meteoworld