Regional climate information as a basis for decision-making – welcome to ICRC-CORDEX2023 – Press release
From today to Friday, researchers, decision-makers and users of regional climate information gather for an international conference in Trieste and Pune. The aim is to focus on the importance of climate information at local and regional scales, and increase knowledge on using climate information to support decision-making.
The role of the international WCRP CORDEX office is, among other things, to organize international conferences on climate information for regions. The conference on September 25-29 takes place simultaneously in Trieste (Italy), Pune (India) and digitally, making it possible for more people to participate and at the same time reducing travel.
The Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology are co-organizers of the conference. A total of around 500 participants will be participating on-site and online.
– The conference is an opportunity to share knowledge about climate information on a regional and local scale. That kind of detailed data and information is important for decision makers. We will talk about high-resolution regional climate scenarios for different parts of the world, methods for climate simulations, and how to interpret climate information. We also see it as an important opportunity to reduce the gap between research and society by creating a platform where researchers and decision-makers can meet. An important part of the discussion is how climate information can best be used to make well-informed decisions to build resilient societies. You will see practical examples of how information support decisions that affect your life, says Iréne Lake director of the international project office for CORDEX.
International cooperation important for the future
According to calculations by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, July and August 2023 were two months in a row with a global average temperature around 1.5° above the mean temperature for the period 1850-1900. At the same time, we have for instance experienced unusually large amounts of rain in many places. This has both short-term and long-term consequences.
– Although not all individual events are due to climate change, we can see that in a warmer climate many types of extreme weather events become both more frequent and more intense. In order to be able to make informed decisions and equip society, it is important to have high-resolution regional climate simulations. International collaborations, of which the conference is a good example, means that our knowledge of the climate increases, and can be made more useful where it is needed, says Erik Kjellström, professor of climatology at SMHI.
Large parts of the conference will be broadcasted live via the WCRP CORDEX YouTube Channel. See the full programme for Trieste and Pune.
Highlights from the programme
- Opening session with invited speakers (Tuesday 26 September).
From Trieste: Filippo Giorgi (ICTP), Atish Daboholkar (Director ICTP), Michele Babuder (Assessore all’Ambiente, City of Trieste), Raghavan Krishnan Director IITM, Nana Ama Browne Klutse (vice chair IPCC WGI), Mario Ciancarini (ENEL), Bjorn Stevens (EVE Initiative), Detlef Stammer (Chair JSC WCRP), Silvina Solman and Daniela Jacob (CORDEX Co-chairs).
From Pune: Welcome by Director IITM, address by Chief Guest M. Ravichandran, Secretary, MoES, Talk by Guest of Honour Kamaljit Ray, Advisor, MoES – Climate Change and Regional Weather Extremes, Talk by Guest of Honour M. Mahapatra, DGM, IMD – Delivering Improved Weather and Climate Services, Vote of Thanks J. Sanjay, Project Director, CCCR, IITM, Pune.
- Scientific A-C sessions (26-28 September).
- Outcomes and insights from Flagship Pilot Studies (Wednesday 27 September).
- Last day session with a conference summary and message for the future, including for policy makers (Friday 29 September).
WCRP CORDEX office
The World Climate Research Program (WCRP) Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) office supports the development of climate models and simulations of future climates, works with capacity development and promotes cooperation between different regions and countries. The organization brings together researchers, decision-makers and other actors who use regional climate information.
Contact
Iréne Lake director of the international project office for CORDEX (irene.lake@smhi.se, +46 76-8933142).
Erik Kjellström, professor of climatology at SMHI (erik.kjellstrom@smhi.se, +46 707950971).
Miranda Gatti, communication officer (miranda.gatti@smhi.se, +46764957789).