The forum is moderated, and is restricted to scientific topics to avoid discussion of political or economic implications of the science.

[1][3] The creation of RealClimate was the subject of an editorial in the scientific journal Nature,[3] and was reported in the "NetWatch" news feature of the journal Science.

[4] In 2005, the editors of Scientific American recognized RealClimate with a Science and Technology Web Award.

[5] In 2006, Nature compiled a list of the 50 most popular blogs written by scientists, as measured by Technorati.

[6][7] According to Time, RealClimate is "in line with the Web's original purpose: scientific communication" with a "straightforward presentation of the physical evidence for global warming".