How one scientist used ‘a billion butterflies’ to predict the weather

The Washington Post · last updated August 20, 2025 – 2:33 AM

Standing in his home office in Bethesda, Maryland, meteorologist Jagadish Shukla gestured at the high-resolution satellite map of India hung on the wall. It shows every groove of his home country’s geological landscape in vivid detail.

He swept his hand over the deep blue of the Arabian Sea and the bits of bright-white snow atop the Himalayas, launching into an impassioned mini-lecture on ocean temperature.

here today, more tomorrow

We’ve launched briefing.center with a focus on the press and media.

And we’ve added Citizen Cartwright, a daily quick-read news summary by veteran Washington journalist Linda Cartwright. We’ve also created a new voting rights knowledge center for Citizen Cartwright subscribers. (You can sign up for a dedicated morning email at citizencartwright.com.)

You can sign up here for full access to press and media and Citizen Cartwright on briefing.center.

You can use briefing.center as the center of your information management, or just one of your tools. We’re happy to discuss your information needs.