At a Glance

a-a-g-1 What is climate? What do we know about climate change? And why is it so relevant for society? How and why do the society use climate observations? How can climate sciences produce scenarios of future climate? What is meant by the words “climate services”?

Find out in this section essential information to understand how climate sciences interact with society: definitions, explanations and multimedia on Climate Observations, Earth-System Modeling, Climate Services

Definitions
Simple questions, short answers taken from experts and from specialized websites

Multimedia
Video and infographics to explain what Climate Sciences are.

Climate Observations

How and why the society uses Climate Observations Climate observations provide the basis for applications such as weather forecasting, air pollution modelling and environmental impact assessments …
What is climate? What is climate change? Climate is the average weather in a given area over a longer period of time. A description of a climate ...
Graphic: Global warming from 1880 to 2015 VIDEO – Earth’s 2015 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880, according to …
A journey through Carbon Data An online platform to explore, visualize and interpret global and regional carbon data arising from both human activities and natural ...
Observed changes in the climate and their causes The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes in the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5, 2013/2014) the following …
Climate Observations, a first definition Climate observations are sourced from numerous meteorological and related observational networks and systems throughout the world …

EARTH-SYSTEM MODELING

A Short Introduction to Climate Models – CMIP & CMIP6 This short movie gives insight into the world of climate modelling, particularly WCRP’s initiative CMIP. It stresses the importance of ...
Energy Modeling: exploring the EU Reference Scenario 2016 MULTIMEDIA – There are many different ways to explore the energy, climate and transport projections up to 2050 contained in ...
How do we model the climate of the Earth? VIDEO – From mathematical simulations to recommendations and reports for policy making informed by the most advanced research in the field ...
The role of Earth System modeling for the European development Adaptation and mitigation measures will be supported by future “climate services” for public and private sectors which are currently under ...
Earth System Modeling: how it serves the societies and the economies Climate change will lead to a range of varied and important impacts. Climate change will affect ecosystems and human …
Talking to the society of today about the Earth of tomorrow Earth system models are key tools to understanding climate change and its effects on society and are at the basis ...
Earth System Modeling, a definition Earth system models (ESM) seek to simulate all relevant aspects of the Earth system. They include physical, chemical and biological ...

CLIMATE SERVICES

CLARITY – helping infrastructure planners to understand the climate change risks, develop and implement adaptation plans Managers of infrastructure or urban planning projects often lack profound climate data that they would need for their planning. And ...
Putting Climate Services in Farmers’ Hands VIDEO – The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the International Research Institute for ...
What climate services can do for us VIDEO – How can ibexes, football addicts and cities benefit from climate services? The short animation from the ERA4CS consortium shows ...
What do we mean by Climate Services A climate service is the provision of climate information to assist decision-making. The service must respond to user …
Climate information to help critical decisions VIDEO – Many vulnerable countries do not have adequate information to manage climate risks. The World Food Programme’s work in ...

Definitions

Multimedia

Climate Observations

EARTH-SYSTEM MODELING

CLIMATE SERVICES