Assisting the Kingdom’s New Climate Centers

KAUST to provide technical expertise for two national climate centers

NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH

“KAUST’s state-of-the-art forecast system for the Arabian Peninsula, which remains under-resolved by global models, should help to inform decisions on many time scales. This facilitates better planning and preparation for, and mitigation of possible adverse outcomes.”

Kevin Trenberth, Distinguished Scholar at the National Center for Atmospheric Research

KAUST signed agreements in support of two new centers in the Kingdom aimed at mitigating the impact of climate change in the Middle East: the National Center for Climate Change, and the Regional Sand and Dust Storms Early Warning and Advisory Center. Coinciding with the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative, the centers are yet another sign of Saudi Arabia’s latest push to address climate change more actively.

In cooperation with the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, KAUST will develop a computer modeling system for dust prediction and web-based publishing software, and evaluate the quality of forecasts. The system will be developed and run on KAUST’s Shaheen II supercomputer. KAUST Professor of Earth Science and Engineering Dr. Georgiy Stenchikov is a key expert in this project and will lead KAUST’s efforts to create the modeling systems.

The National Center for Climate Change will be the central coordinating authority for climate change science in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region. It will provide the tools and information needed to mitigate and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. The institution will compile, produce and share research and information related to climatology using advanced modeling, analysis and the prediction of climate variations. These will help facilitate science-based decision-making and practical applications that will be of direct benefit to the Kingdom.

KAUST signed the agreements with the National Center for Meteorology (NCM), which is developing the new facilities along with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture. NCM is responsible for providing continuous weather forecasts, ensuring safe air travel, protecting crops from drought or heavy rain, and issuing air-quality advisories for public health. Previously part of the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection, NCM was created in 2019. KAUST has had an ongoing collaboration with what is now NCM since 2016, providing consultation and training on high-performance computing for weather forecasting.

DR. GEORGIY STENCHIKOV Professor of Earth Science and Engineering

AT A TIME WHEN RISING GLOBAL TEMPERATURES ARE EXACERBATING CLIMATE EXTREMES AND NATURAL HAZARDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, KAUST’S COLLABORATION WITH THE NEW CLIMATE CENTERS WILL HELP TO FACILITATE INFORMED ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING IN THE KINGDOM AND THE WIDER GCC.