We put the ocean in a /shell/ and throw that shell back into the ocean.
At Climate Research Lab we focus on research and development that contributes to the science, monitoring, forecasts, and climate projections for South Asia and the larger Indo-Pacific region. We attempt to translate climate science to facilitate the food, water, and economic security of the region. The lab works on the mechanisms and impacts of climate change on the monsoon, cyclones, heat waves, the marine ecosystem, and human health.
| COP28: The Gulf between Climate Commitments and Reality | |||
| Op-Ed on COP28 in The Times of India, December 2023 [pdf] There is a huge “gulf” between IPCC science and the COP28 consensus. Global warming already exceeds 1.2°C and will surpass 1.5°C by 2030 and 2°C by 2050, as the trajectory of emissions and COP28 commitments to curb them are insufficient in restraining the temperature rise. COP28 came out with a pledge of $792 million for the loss and damage climate fund. The pledged amount is less than 1% of the losses developing countries face every year from global warming, which is at the scale of several trillion dollars.
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| International Indian Ocean Expedition | |||
| If you use weather forecasts, thank the monitoring systems in the ocean and the research and modeling that support these forecasts …and the people behind them!
Recently, we conducted a brainstorming on the Future Road Map for the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE2) at the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad. The 2nd International Indian Ocean Expedition is a major global scientific program engaging the international scientific community in collaborative oceanographic and atmospheric research from coastal environments to the deep sea over the period 2015-2025, revealing new information on the Indian Ocean (i.e. its currents, its influence upon the climate, its marine ecosystems) which is fundamental for future sustainable development and expansion of the Indian Ocean’s blue economy. Roxy Mathew Koll is the Co-Chair of the Science Theme on “Extreme events and their impacts on ecosystems and human populations” under the Second International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE2). Aditi Modi is the Vice-President of the IIOE2 Early Career Scientists Network. | |||
| Freshwater on Earth | |||
| Freshwater on Earth. How much is available? Can we access it into the future, sustainably? What is the direction of change and what are the drivers? The Schmidt Futures VIEW Advisory Board is on it. Watch this space for updates!
@ Stanford University, California | |||
| Indian Ocean Climate @ der Freitag | |||
| Indian Ocean is a canary in the coalmine, a marker of things to come on a global scale. Interview with Julia Lauter for the German newspaper der Freitag [pdf] [online version, translate and read].
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| Monsoon and Marine Heatwaves at the WCRP Conference | |||
| How accurately are we monitoring and predicting the monsoon? What are the challenges and opportunities in improving monsoon predictions? What’s the role of climate change and land surface processes on it and how can we use AI/ML to scale up to the potential predictability of the monsoon?
Roxy Mathew Koll delivered a keynote talk on ‘Observing and Predicting the South Asian monsoon — Challenges in a Changing Climate’ at the WCRP Open Science Conference 2023, organized by the World Climate Research Programme, at Kigali, Rwanda, on 25 October 2023.
The Monsoon Panel
Session on Compound Climate Extremes
Climate Research Lab at the WCRP Conference Aditi Modi presented her research on the impacts of climate change on marine primary productivity in the tropical Indian Ocean, based on satellite observations and Earth system models. Sophia Yacob presented her R&D on a new climate-dengue model using AI/ML. We had a poster on the Meenachil River and Rain Monitoring — the citizen science program in Kerala, supported by Koll Science Foundation and Climate Trends, under the purview of WCRP My Climate Risk Lighthouse Activity. |
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| Climate Proofing Mumbai | |||
| The population of Mumbai, including the city and the suburbs, crossed 20 million around the time when global surface warming hit 1 degree Celsius. By 2050, the population is projected to double—reaching about 40 million. Guess where we will be in terms of global warming? Global mean surface temperatures will cross 2 degrees Celsius by then. Will Mumbai submerge? Can we climate-proof our coastal cities?
Roxy Mathew Koll at the Mumbai First roundtable meeting on climate change with Claudia Roth, the German Minister of Culture and Media, at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai.
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| Indian Ocean Futures. Policy Document | |||
| Indian Ocean is a canary in the coalmine, a marker of things to come on a global scale. Read more in this public policy document Indian Ocean Futures, published by the UWA Public Policy Institute [pdf].
Addressing climate change in the Indian Ocean Region: knowledge, capabilities and networks. Pubished in Indian Ocean Futures, by the University of Western Australia. | |||
| Cyclones and Climate Change. Interview @ The New Indian Express | |||
| Interview with The New Indian Express — Brace for more cyclones as the Arabian Sea heats up, 1 July 2023 [interview].
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| Heatwaves and Health. Op-Ed @ Hindustan Times | |||
| Op-Ed at Hindustan Times — Heatwaves and Health, 22 June 2023 [article].
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| Climate Crisis. Interview @ Hindustan Times | |||
| Interview with Hindustan Times — Climate crisis accelerating at faster pace than expected, 5 June 2023 [interview].
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| Heatwaves over India @ Frontline Magazine | |||
| Frontline Magazine — Death by Degrees. An analysis of heatwaves over India, 2 June 2023 [article]
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| Inaugural Address at the G20 Coastal Cities Summit | |||
| Climate Proofing Coastal Cities — Challenges and Way Forward. Inaugural address at the G20 Coastal Cities Summit organized by Mumbai First. For coastal cities like Mumbai, any development can be an opportunity to redesign the city considering present and future climate challenges. | |||
| Journal Nature highlights our study on Extreme Monsoon Rains | |||
| Nature highlights our research on the threefold rise in monsoon extremes, 8 Feb 2023 [article] [pdf]. The trend map and time series are updated with data until 2022. The article covers the collective community action in Kerala involving citizens, educational institutions, and scientists in monitoring rainfall and predicting river floods. Climate Research Lab is supporting the citizen science network.
Details of the study: [Summary] [Original Reference] | |||
| AGU 2022 Honors Ceremony | |||
| Roxy Mathew Koll received the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2022 Devendra Lal Medal for outstanding research in Earth and Space Sciences, at the AGU Fall Meeting in Chicago, Dec 2022. He was also conferred as a Fellow of the AGU.
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| Climate Research Lab, 2023 | |||
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