Budyko's groundbreaking book, Heat Balance of the Earth's Surface (Тепловой баланс земной поверхности), published in 1956, transformed climatology from a qualitative into a quantitative physical science.

[1][2][3] The study attracted significant attention since it hinted at the possibility for a runaway positive feedback within the global climate system.

[5] His models showed that a 50% increase in atmospheric CO2 would melt all the polar ice, whereas a reduction of the gas by half "could lead to a complete glaciation of the Earth.

Observations have since corroborated his figures, recording that mean global temperature increased by 0.98 °C or 1.76 °F over this period and that the extent of multiyear Arctic sea ice in September 2019 was about 46% smaller than in 1970.

Moreover, his models similarly indicated that a 50% increase in atmospheric CO2 would melt all the polar ice, whereas reduction of the gas by half "can lead to a complete glaciation of the Earth."

[4] Budyko is believed to have been the first, in 1974, to put forth the concept of artificial solar radiation management with stratospheric sulfate aerosols if global warming ever became a pressing issue.