Get your Journal of Climate paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to Journal of Climate goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Journal of Climate guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Journal of Climate. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Journal of Climate journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Journal of Climate guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Journal of Climate guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through Editorial Manager.
| Element | J Climate requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured abstract required. Maximum 250 words. Authors should summarize their conclusions and methods in the abstract. Footnotes, reference citations, and URLs or hyperlinks are not permitted. Applies to Articles and, at the discretion of the chief editors, to appropriate shorter contributions |
| Main text | Articles: Up to 7500 words, including the body text, acknowledgments, and appendixes. The word limit does not include the title page, abstract, significance statement, data availability statement, references, captions, tables, and figures. If a submission exceeds the word limit, the author must provide justification and request the Chief Editor's approval. Body text should be divided into numbered sections with separate headings |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 3-6 keywords required (minimum 3, maximum 6). Authors must choose keywords from a predefined taxonomy provided during submission in Editorial Manager (labeled as 'classifications'). Keywords should not be inserted in the manuscript file itself |
| References | Author-date citation style (AMS style). In-text citations consist of author's name and year of publication [e.g., 'according to Rossby (1945)' or 'as shown by an earlier study (Rossby 1945)']. References arranged alphabetically without numbering. Journal articles include: author(s), year, title, italicized journal title (with AMS-specific abbreviations), bolded volume, page range, and DOI if available |
| Peer review | Single-anonymous peer review (also called single-blind). The names of authors are visible to editors and reviewers, but the names of reviewers are kept confidential. Individual reviewers may choose to disclose their names to authors during or after the peer review process |
| Submission | www.editorialmanager.com/jcli |
Read the Journal of Climate guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Journal of Climate in under a page.
Skim two or three recent J Climate papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Journal of Climate journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Journal of Climate guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.