Priorities for climate observations, research and predictions high on agenda
The latest findings about the relationship between climate change and extreme events such heatwaves, droughts, floods and their impact on Earth’s population and ecosystems will be discussed next week at a conference with more than 1 700 leading scientists from 84 countries. Progress and prospects in forecasting the weather and climate months, seasons and even decades ahead, as well as the challenges facing surface and space based observation networks, are among the other topics.
The World Climate Research Programme’s Open Science Conference takes place in Denver, Colorado 24-28 October. It aims to improve our understanding and prediction of - and ability to cope with - naturally-occurring climate variation and human-influenced change from seasons to centuries, and from narrow regions to the entire globe.
Discussions will include the effect of rising global temperatures on polar regions, melting glaciers and ice caps, sea level variability and change, and thawing permafrost which has the potential of becoming a net source of greenhouse gases.
The conference will bring together experts from across a large number of disciplines from physical sciences (atmospheric, oceanic, polar regions, ecosystems) as well as social and information sciences. It also aims to nurture the next generation of scientists, with workshops for early career professionals and students.
The outcomes of the conference will be published and benefit the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other forthcoming assessments of freshwater resources, ecosystems, biodiversity and ozone.
