Met Office and Royal Meteorological Society scientists call for participants in their research into how humans affect the climate
The UK public are being asked to blow bubbles and spot plane trails as part of a new national survey on the climate.
The research, led by scientists at the Met Office and the Royal Meteorological Society, will look at various aspects of how humans are affecting the climate, and how people may adapt to rising temperatures.
People are being asked to look out for aeroplane trails, or contrails, which may be contributing to climate change and which can only be recorded by the human eye.
Researchers are also urging schoolchildren to blow bubbles to measure wind speed and direction near the ground, to reveal how the built environment affects the wind, as well as watching cloud movement to record wind direction in the sky.
The Open Air Laboratories (Opal) survey also involves the public recording how hot or cold they feel as part of efforts to see how people might cope with temperature changes.
Thousands of schools are set to take part in the public science project, along with members of the public.
Scientists are also keen to discover what confuses people about climate change so that they can widen public understanding of the topic.
Geoff Jenkins of the Met Office said: "We're asking people to get outside observing and measuring the weather.
"What they see and record will be useful for checking the systems we use for forecasting weather and predicting climate."
Mark McCarthy, climate research scientist at the Met Office, said: "Climate change poses many challenges for both the natural environment and human populations worldwide.
"These new insights will complement and build on our existing research, looking at the potential impacts of climate change through the 21st century."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/02/plane-spotters-climate-survey
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