Et nytt innlegg fra Seasonal Forecasting Engine-prosjektet skisserer hvordan de oppdaterte varslene ser ut for februar. Kort sagt ser det ut til å bli en kald start på måneden i hele landet, mens kulden foreløpig ser ut til å avta noe fra midten av måneden.
Seminar om «data-driven climate insight»
Både Thordis Thorarinsdottir og Erik Kolstad fra ledergruppen vår holdt presentasjoner på et Tekna-seminar 19. januar. Seminaret ble tatt opp og vil bli gjort tilgjengelig online. Titlene på foredragene var henholdsvis Machine learning vs. statistical methods for climate data analysis og Climate risk prediction – challenges and benefits for the society.
Sesongvarsel for februar 2021
Vi publiserte i dag et nytt sesongvarsel for februar. Den kalde værtypen vi har hatt mange steder i januar ser ut til å gjøre seg gjeldende også denne måneden.
New seasonal forecast for November and December 2020 for Norway
The Seasonal Forecasting Engine project just published their new forecast for four cities in Norway here. Summary: Mild weather in both months and in all the cities.
Forecast for November and December 2020
In the Seasonal Forecasting Engine research project, we combine historical data (ERA5) and trends with seasonal forecasts from multiple dynamical models into probabilistic forecasts. The dynamical model data is provided by the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS). The method that we use to combine these data sources will be published soon.
This is our temperature forecast for November, shown as deviation from the long-term climatology in standard deviation units:

The ongoing La Niña is clearly visible as below-normal temperatures in the eastern part of the equatorial Pacific. In most of Europe, above-average temperatures are expected.
When it comes to precipitation, the northern part of Europe is forecast to be slightly wetter-than-normal, but in other regions strongly drier-than-normal conditions are predicted:

Below, the December temperature forecast is shown:

And finally, the combined December precipitation forecast:

New study: Attuning to a changing ocean
Climate Futures’s head of innovation, Øyvind Paasche, is one of the co-authors of a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), entitled Attuning to a changing ocean. Read a University of Oslo article about the study in Norwegian here.
Climate Futures centre will launch on October 1, 2020
In June, the Research Council of Norway announced the list of new Centres for Research-based Innovation. Climate Futures is one of them and will start in October. Our centre involves about 30 partners, and our goal is to enhance climate prediction skill and the uptake of climate risk management in the private and public sectors.
The Climate Futures alliance was built on the platform provided by the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research and will be coordinated by NORCE.
Climate Futures blir SFI
I dag fikk vi nyheten om at Climate Futures sin SFI-søknad ble valgt ut som en av 22 nye SFI-er. Forventet oppstart er 1. oktober. Bergens Tidende laget denne saken.
May, June, July seasonal forecast for northern Europe
The research project Seasonal Forecasting Engine issued a new forecast today (in Norwegian). The figure below shows the predicted temperature anomaly, i.e. the deviation from the average during the last 20 years.

The predicted anomalies are quite small, meaning that the forecast models indicate that the period will be neither very warm nor very cold compared to normal.
Disclaimer: Our seasonal forecasts are experimental and subject to ongoing research. We accept no liability for any loss whatsoever arising from use of this forecast.
New EU project: CONFER

In September, a new EU-funded Horizon 2020 project will start. CONFER will be led by Erik Kolstad at NORCE and is a multi-national collaboration to bolster resilience to climate impacts and reduce disaster risk in East Africa, potentially reaching 365 million people in 11 countries. The project has eight other partners from Kenya, South Africa, Norway, UK, and Germany.
The main objective of CONFER is to co-develop dedicated climate services for the water, energy and food security sectors with stakeholders and end-users, to enhance their ability to plan for and adapt to seasonal climate fluctuations.
The scientific work in CONFER is ambitious and aims to break new ground along three inter-related tracks. First, we will secure end-user engagement by using the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Fora, which are organized by CONFER partner ICPAC three times per year and attract about 200 stakeholders, as platforms for co-production of new and dedicated climate services for our focus sectors. By fostering a two-way dialogue between our scientists and a large group of stakeholders and end-users, we will create enthusiasm and raise awareness to ensure that the value of our new science and products is fully realized by those who need them the most.
Second, we will improve on the accuracy and local detail of numerical prediction model outputs for East Africa, with a particular focus on seasonal prediction.
Third, we will develop statistical and machine learning tools to obtain a new level of seasonal forecast skill based on numerical models and high- resolution satellite data.
We will also involve our scientific experts in a large training and capacity development programme designed to enhance climate information uptake in our focus sectors. Our research and outreach address important IPCC topics, the sustainable development goals, and the expected impacts in the call for proposals. We will aim to influence policymaking through frequent interaction with stakeholders at the climate outlook fora, by publishing policy briefs, and by organizing an open conference on climate services in Africa in 2023.