With ClimaMeter the graphic and detailed representation of the natural or anthropic origin of the effects of the climate change event
As the world faces the growing challenges of climate change, an international team of researchers has launched a cutting-edge platform to directly address one of the most pressing questions: the extent to which climate change modifies extreme weather events?
The recent report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the urgent need to address global climate change, highlighting an acceleration of extreme phenomena and their impact on vital ecosystems and on society.
In this framework, the team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), in collaboration with the , L ' and , focused on some extreme events that occurred this summer such as the extratropical storm Poly that hit central Europe, the exceptional Cerberus heat wave that hit the central Mediterranean and the intense rainfall at the end of August on the Mediterranean islands and in Northern Italy.
"The main objective of the project is to provide a rapid analysis of the role of climate change and natural variability in an extreme meteorological event, with particular attention to specific phenomena such as cyclones, heat waves and intense rainfall”, explains Tommaso Alberti, researcher at INGV. “This allows for clear and precise information on the influences of anthropogenic emissions on the extreme event, offering a rapid perspective immediately after the event, as well as a more technical description and discussion of the event once it has concluded".
ClimaMeter, with a graphical representation, provides a clear and detailed vision of the natural or anthropic origin of the extreme event. In doing so, you offer a easy to use tool to understand the size often underestimated of climate change.
"The newly launched platform represents a significant step towards a deeper understanding of the link between climate change and extreme weather events. We feed the database with extreme events that have occurred in recent years and we hope to provide, using real-time data on pressure at the earth's surface, wind speed, amount of precipitation and temperature, obtained from , a database with meteorological parameters at high temporal resolution, offering a solid basis for future analyzes and forecasts", adds the researcher. “Our methodology is based on the search for meteorological conditions similar to those that caused the extreme event of interest using data available in the so-called 'satellite era', i.e. the period starting from 1979 or when widespread observations became available of climate variables from satellites. We separately analyze the first decades of the satellite era (1979–2000, “past”) and the most recent decades (2001–2022, “present”) and then compare them to understand how selected weather conditions have changed between the two periods and whether such changes are likely due to natural climate variability or anthropogenic climate change. By using historical data and not numerical model simulations, we have the possibility of having a rapid and reproducible picture of the effects", continues Tommaso Alberti.
La platform, can be reached at the address where they are detailed and intuitive information for the benefit of everyone: the scientific community, information professionals, institutional authorities and citizens.
"In the future, the platform can be used to provide fundamental information for the development of mitigation strategies and adaptation to the constantly evolving effects of climate change", concludes Alberti.
ClimaMeter, the innovative platform that reveals the origin of extreme events in real time: i
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Studio: on Weather and Climate Dynamics
