Mountains are very sensitive to the climate change. Usually, they have much less station density, and therefore, less information are known from the higher elevated areas. Additionally, measurements have troubles under more severe weather conditions raising the maintenance costs of high elevated stations. Their effects spread far, because they operate as water towers supporting water the lowlands partly directly from precipitation, partly using the buffering effect of solid precipitation. Mountainous ecosystems are very rich, and play a specific role in the biodiversity, and the local economy. Other socio-economic sectors in mountain areas like tourism, energy, land planning and agropastoralism are also especially sensitive to climate variability. Small changes in climate conditions may affect key factors for these sectors such as snow cover duration and depth, hydropower generation potential, energy demand, flash flood risk or grassland structure and productivity.

This session welcomes contributions in connection with mountain climate, climate change, changing climate extreme events, natural disasters and other climate related socioeconomic impacts. Adaptation actions and best practices are also welcomed.

Papers dealing with the following topics are invited:
- measurements in the mountains
- climate time series, their quality control, homogenization methodologies and analysis
- water balance of higher elevated areas
- change of natural disasters according to climate change (droughts, avalanches, landslides, etc.)
- climate change impacts in mountain ecosystems
- climate change impacts in socioeconomic mountain sectors and climate vulnerabilities
- adaptation to climate change in the mountains (forestry, grasslands, water systems, wetlands)