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Climate newsletter |
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Spotlight on 'the ocean and climate' |
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 The ocean and the climate are intrinsically linked, and this month we have been exploring the topic of ‘the ocean and climate’. Our planet is covered by water, and it is accepted by ocean scientists that there is one global ocean and many basins with individual names – Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern Ocean.
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NEMO: a numerical ocean model
 A numerical ocean model is a computer programme representing the equations of motion (momentum, conservation of mass and thermodynamics) for the ocean. We need these models to predict the state of the ocean within short and long timescales for a variety of purposes, ranging from support to operations at sea (for example, search and rescue) to understanding the role of the ocean in the Earth’s climate system.
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Antarctic sea ice in 2023
Antarctic average sea ice extent for 2023 was the lowest on record. The precise contribution of anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming to this record low is not yet known. In a new blog post, Met Office Senior Scientist Alex West talks about the 2023 Antarctic sea ice minimum and its interaction with the ocean and atmosphere.
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State of the Climate in Asia 2023
On 23 April, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published the latest State of the Climate report for Asia, which highlighted the accelerating rate of key climate change indicators such as surface temperature, glacier retreat and sea level rise, which will have major repercussions for societies, economies and ecosystems in the region. “The report's conclusions are sobering. Many countries in the region experienced their hottest year on record in 2023, along with a barrage of extreme conditions, from droughts and heatwaves to floods and storms. Climate change exacerbated the frequency and severity of such events, profoundly impacting societies, economies, and, most importantly, human lives and the environment that we live in,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
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European State of the Climate 2023
On 22 April, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service published the European State of the Climate 2023 report. Key messages from the report included that 2023 was the joint warmest or second warmest year on record depending on the dataset. Average sea surface temperature for the ocean across Europe was also the highest on record. Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, WMO comments: “The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our generation. The cost of climate action may seem high, but the cost of inaction is much higher. As this report shows, we need to leverage science to provide solutions for the good of society.”
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Sahel heatwave caused by ‘human-induced’ climate change
World Weather Attribution reported last week on research concluding that an extreme heatwave at the end of March and beginning of April 2024 would not have occurred without climate change.
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Climate Conversations
In our next episode of Climate Conversations, we look in detail at the ocean and climate. Senior Presenter Clare Nasir speaks to Dr Ségolène Berthou about last year’s marine heatwave and with Prof Helene Hewitt about the role of climate change on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) - a large system of ocean currents. This will be shared on our YouTube channel very soon. We have covered AI and Climate data, and the Amazon in previous episodes.
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Offshore Technology Conference
The Offshore Technology Conference 2024 is taking place from 6-9 May, with Met Office scientist Dr Edward Steele presenting a paper in the Metocean Advances session on "A Spatiotemporal Machine Learning Framework for the Prediction of Metocean Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico", based on work with the University of Exeter, University of Plymouth and Shell.
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