Extreme weather forecasting in a warming world
Explore why severe weather warnings don’t always lead to simple life-saving public and government action, and why climate change means we need to get this right.
In the heatwaves across the American northwest and the deadly floods that have brought tragedy to Northern Europe, 2021 has provided a stark reminder that we are powerless in the face of nature at its most destructive. As climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events, our ability to not only forecast them, but also heed warnings and take appropriate actions become ever more vital.
Imperial alumnus and Emerging Alumni Award winner Dr Gabriele Messori (PhD Atmospheric Physics and Dynamics 2013) is a physicist-turned-climate scientist who spends his days looking at the statistical concepts that underpin climate models and predictions of extreme weather events. In this interactive online discussion Gabriele will explore why accurate extreme weather forecasts don’t always lead to necessary public and government action, and how more effort needs to be placed on public understanding of forecasting likely outcomes. He will also unpick and explain the belief that recent extreme weather events are caused by climate change, and what that tells us about the future weather events we must prepare for.