Second WMO Workshop on Operational Climate Prediction
Second WMO Workshop on Operational Climate Prediction (OCP-2)
30 May - 1 June 2018, Barcelona, Spain
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Background • Objectives • Expected Benefits and Outcomes • Workshop format • Agenda
• Participation • Related links • Concept Note (PDF) • Presentations
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Background
Over the past decade, the number of centres responsible for generating real-time operational climate prediction (OCP) products, with dedicated computing and information delivery mechanism, has significantly increased. In the meantime, demand of various types of users for climate predictions on timescales of weeks to decades has also been accelerating, as decision-makers in different sectors increasingly recognize their relevance for longer-term decisions and planning, including for adapting to and mitigating climate change. A dialogue and interaction between the centres engaged in OCP would help them to share the knowledge and expertise, identify good practices and recognize gaps in order to meet increasing requirements and expectations.
Advances in research, and their transition to operations, have significantly improved climate predictions over the past decades. Further increases in skill of long range forecasts are likely to come from improvements in the forecast models and tools and increasing scientific understanding of climate variability and change. It is very important, therefore, to foster the transition of climate predictability research results into operational use, while in the meantime, communicating gaps and requirements from the operational to the research to guide future research foci.
With this in mind, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) initiated a series of workshops on Operational Climate Prediction, to be held regularly and serve as a platform for operational and research communities to share experiences, to review the progress in the operational practices and scientific studies related to climate prediction and to address incorporation of recent research advances in developing new operational forecast products. First Workshop in this series was held in Pune, India, on 9-11 November 2015.
Objectives of the Workshop
The Second WMO Workshop on Operational Climate Prediction (OCP-2) will be held from 30 May to 1 June 2018 in Barcelona Spain, hosted by the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC). The goals of the OCP-2 are to facilitate a dialogue between various operational climate prediction centres, and to strengthen interaction and enhance partnership between the operational and research communities.
OCP-2 key objectives
- Discuss technical issues, and to promote innovative approaches for operational climate prediction, from sub-seasonal to decadal timescales;
- Highlight recent research advances that can be integrated into operational approaches, articulate research needs and gaps to improve operational practices, as well as outstanding research issues confronted by the operational community, and build and promote two-way linkages between the research and operations;
- Showcase success stories in operational climate prediction at regional and national scale, and identify major challenges;
- Agree on the way forward for improved operational climate prediction through bringing research results into operational use.
Expected Benefits and Outcomes
It is expected that the Workshop will accelerate improved implementation and functioning of the Climate Services Information System (CSIS) at regional and national level in support of service delivery for policy and decision making.
The OCP-2 is expected to deliver the following outcomes:
- Enhanced delivery of forecast information cascading from global to regional scale (e.g., to Regional Climate Centres, Regional Climate Outlook Forums), allowing effective and optimized use of global-scale information in preparation of products for the concerned region, including for use it further at national scales;
- Strengthened collaboration and feedback mechanisms between the operational and research communities;
- Articulation of research needs to improve operational climate prediction in terms of enhanced skill and an expanded range of forecast products;
- Identification of mechanisms for bringing research results into operational climate prediction;
- A roadmap for improving operational climate prediction on sub-seasonal, seasonal and decadal scales;
- A position paper reflecting the outcomes of the OCP-2 workshop, which will be presented and discussed at the Research to Operations session of the International Conferences on Subseasonal to Decadal Prediction organized by WCRP on 17-21 September 2018 in Boulder, USA.
Workshop format
The Workshop will discuss different operational aspects, and links to research developments, of climate prediction at time scales ranging from sub-seasonal, to seasonal and decadal, including current challenges and limitations. It will comprise a number of keynote talks, open discussions in panel as well as in break-out groups.
Participation
Participation in the workshop is by invitation only, and the expected number of participants will be around 50 including the members of the CBS/CCl Inter-Programme Expert Team on Operational Prediction from Sub-seasonal to the Longer-time Scales (IPET-OPSLS).
The target audience of the workshop includes experts with the knowledge and expertise from various operational climate prediction centres, including those established under WMO umbrella, other international centres, such as APEC Climate Centre (APCC), International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S), as well as from research community, including WCRP/WGSIP and WWRP/S2S.
WMO has limited resources to support the travel and per diem of invited participants, and where possible, they are urged to explore internal resources to cover their participation costs, at least partially.
Presentations
» See Presentations given during the Workshop
Day 1
- 1.2 Workshop concept and expected outcomes
- 1.3 Current status and future perspectives of operational prediction from subseasonal to longer time scales
- 1.4 Ensuring climate data quality and homogeneity for operational climate prediction
- 2.1 Sub-seasonal forecasts
- 2.2 Seasonal forecasts
- 2.3 Decadal prediction, including Global Annual to Decadal Updates (GA2DU)
- 2.4 Verification of seasonal forecasts
- 2.5 Global Seasonal Climate Update (GSCU)
- 2.6 Operational climate prediction in RCC Pune: good practices on downscaling global products
- 2.7 Tokyo Climate Centre activities in support of OCP in the Asia-Pacific region
- 2.8 LC LRFMME operation, access to products
- 2.9 Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)
- 2.10 North American Multi-Model Ensemble
- 2.11 APEC Climate Center Multi-Model Ensemble (MME) prediction
- 3.1 Activities of the World Climate Research Programme Working Group on Seasonal to Inter-decadal Prediction (WGSIP)
- 3.2 S2S project - examples of application of sub-seasonal products
- 3.3 IPET-OPSLS perspectives on research needs
- Open discussion on the current status of operational practices, challenges, gaps and needs
Day 2
- 4.1 Predictability limits at different time scales
- 4.2 Sources of predictability at sub/seasonal scale
- 4.3 Sources of predictability at seasonal scale
- 4.4 Sources of predictability at decadal scale
- 4.5 Teleconnections
- 4.6 Asian Monsoons
- 4.7 Predictability over the Arctic Region
- 4.8 Impact of soil dust aerosols upon weather and climate
- 5.1 Some European Activities
- 5.2 EUPORIAS
- 5.3 WISER
- 5.4 Opportunities for OCP in WMO projects
Day 3
- 7.1 Global RCOF Review recommendations on operational practices
- 7.2 Towards objective seasonal forecasting
- 7.3 ASEANCOF: Developing regional climate change projections
- 7.4 GHACOF practices
- 7.5 Operational practices in South African Weather Service (SAWS)
- 7.6 National level products generation including calibration aspects
- 8.1 Data access, availability at Global Producing Centres for Long-Range Forecasts and Annual to Decadal Climate Prediction
- 8.2 Requirements on tailored seasonal forecasts under WMO-led projects
- 8.3 Communication of climate prediction products, including uncertainties
- 8.4 The role of co-production: toward usable climate services
- 8.5 Good practices for user engagement and communication of operational services
- 9.1 Capacity development (CD) aspects: addressing the needs to build competences
- 9.2 Update on CSIS implementation, including Climate Services Toolkit
- 9.3 Machine Learning algorithms in Meteorology and Climatology Applications
- 10.1 An outline of a Position Paper on Operational Climate Prediction
- 10.2 Input to the WWRP/WCRP Conferences on Sub-seasonal to Decadal Prediction
Related links
- Global Producing Centres of Long-Range Forecasts
- WMO Regional Climate Centres
- World Climate Research Programme
- Working Group on Subseasonal to Interdecadal Prediction (WGSIP)
- Subseasonal to Seasonal Prediction Project