Climate change poses high risks to many natural and human systems. The science is clear: we need to act to reduce these risks. However, the lack of appropriate expertise strongly limits the effectiveness of climate action. Estonia has a high rate of climate scepticism, and there needs to be a clear national policy on educating people about climate change and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

In an EEA-financed project, "KLIIMATEADLIK - Climate Change Education to Promote Climate Action", we focus on promoting climate change education in formal and non-formal education to increase the competencies necessary for climate change mitigation and adaptation. We aim to establish climate change education at all education levels in Estonia. We develop education strategies, create learning materials and support teachers.

The first step was to understand the current situation regarding climate change education. For this, we assessed the national curricula. Climate change is mentioned as an independent topic only in natural sciences. Another problem is that only the concept of local climate is introduced. Not connecting climate topics to the global climate system makes it challenging to integrate climate change issues.

The next step was to study the status quo of teaching. We analysed the textbooks and surveyed the teachers. Unfortunately, the textbooks do not include a scientific understanding of climate change. The explanations of the causes and impacts of climate change are missing. Moreover, climate change mitigation and adaptation are not covered at all. 

Our solution is to educate teachers and prepare study materials. The study materials cover the causes and impacts of climate change together with climate change mitigation and adaptation. Educating teachers and students will translate to increased climate change awareness in Estonian society in general.

How to cite: Post, P., Toll, V., Terasmaa, J., Uibu, K., Uiboupin, K., Laius, A., Rüütel, T., Tuuling, L., Kikkas, A., Altrov, A., Arro, G., Malleus-Kotšegarov, E., Annist, A., Vanamölder, K., and Vollmer, E.: Strategies of Climate Change Education to Promote Climate Action in Estonia, EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4–8 Sep 2023, EMS2023-448, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2023-448, 2023.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges in our times. To assess climate change impacts and to adapt to climate change - the understanding of the climate system behavior especially in higher resolution considering local conditions is essential. We need knowledge of climate data and experience in processing and analyzing them. The main source of future data is climate projections, for regional impacts we rely on regional downscaling for high-resolution information.

The one of initiatives of the EC Horizon2020 project IS-ENES3 was to organize the schools on the different aspects of the chain toward the application of climate change information for climate services. After a series of online schools due to COVID-19, finally, we were able to organize a few of them in person, one being held in Prague at the end of November last year, under the title „From Climate Projections to Climate Impacts via Regional Downscaling“, which was supported by the organizing it as a back-to-back event with the final meeting of CORDEX FPS Convection dealing with the very high resolution, so called „convection-permitting “ regional climate modeling.

Thus, the emphasis during one week's school was given to climate models and downscaling methods, tools to analyze and process climate data as well as how to apply them for impact studies. The information on where and how to access the necessary data was provided together with tutorials and practical exercises in order to get experience with these data and tools. Specific time was reserved for group¨s projects, i.e. case studies elaborated by small groups of students using the data and tools provided during the school.

How to cite: Halenka, T. and Belda, M.: IS-ENES3 Autumn School in Prague: From Climate Projections to Climate Impacts via Regional Downscaling, EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4–8 Sep 2023, EMS2023-622, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2023-622, 2023.

Croatia Control ltd is a national air navigation provider and MET service is a part of the company. Observations, forecasts and warnings are made by aeronautical meteorological forecasters (AMF) and observers (AMO). To maintain the level of education at a very high level, regular refresh seminars have been held for all licensed personnel since 2008.

Almost one week is reserved for the education of forecasters, within spring and autumn seminars,  and two days yearly for observers. Topics balance meteorological theory and practice through lectures on the latest developments in science, measurements and models, the technology of work, operational manuals etc. Exercises are always warmly welcomed. Because of Croatia’s specific climate diversity due to its position between central Europe and the Mediterranean, we have to cover meteorologically very different topics: convection, winter precipitation, fog and low clouds, sea breeze, mountain waves, downslope wind storms and turbulence.

Most of the talks are given by support and education personnel inside the company, while some are even prepared and given by more experienced operational forecasters. Additionally, invited speakers give lectures–usually from the National meteorological institute (DHMZ), Faculty of Science Zagreb, inside company (e.g. ATM support) and others.

For some events, we invite aviation forecasters from neighbouring countries: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Our lectures are helpful to others, and their participation helps all to improve communication which is present for internationally coordinated products and warnings for aviation. Feedback surveys after seminars and from regular assessments of forecasters are used to improve our in-house education continuously.

How to cite: Jurković, J., Ćoso, L., and Šoljan, V.: Seminars for operational MET personnel at Croatia Control, EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4–8 Sep 2023, EMS2023-468, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2023-468, 2023.

Climate change and its effects on everyday life are a global concern. A wide range of mathematical and computational studies on climate have provided a wealth of knowledge to understand the process and strategies for effective identification of key diagnostics related to weather extremes and atypical seasons. But there is still an urgent need to provide near real-time reliable information. In particular, weather extreme events and abnormal seasonal or yearly conditions are often invoked as a hallmark of climate change by the media and mass social media. However, this link between individual events and climate change is often made impulsively without verification of the underlying physical processes involved. We created a framework that performs an extreme event attribution focused on atmospheric circulation by identifying the sea level pressure patterns in their typicality in current (factual world defined as a sliding window from the day before to the day of the event, going back 30 years) and past (counterfactual world, from 1950 to 1980) climate conditions - defined using the ERA5 dataset (from slp for several variables: tas, tp, z800, etc). This new tool allows to broaden the dialogue and public perception on climate change topics through the production and provision of authentic (near) real time climate change information on a continuous basis. This will allow researchers and the general public, as well as policy makers, to access relevant results on a daily basis for further uses such as scientific research, as well as for general public knowledge creation, and other educational purposes, tweets, climate fact sheets, videos, etc.

How to cite: Hisi, A., Faranda, D., and Vrac, M.: Automatic attribution: quick and reliable evaluation for improvement in public perception of climate changes, EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4–8 Sep 2023, EMS2023-253, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2023-253, 2023.

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is pivotal in fostering workforce development in meteorological and atmospheric science fields. This talk explores AMS's initiatives to bridge the gap between academic learning and professional integration, effectively nurturing a skilled and diverse workforce. I will highlight AMS programs that bring the atmospheric science curriculum into classrooms, support students during postgraduate and graduate education, and provide guidance to graduates enabling them to be successful professionals in their field. Through its multifaceted approach, AMS nurtures talent and shapes a skilled, adaptive, and socially responsible workforce that advances atmospheric sciences’ impact.

The American Meteorological Society’s mission is to advance the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, applications, and services for the benefit of society.

How to cite: Kafka, S.: Workforce Development – from the Classroom to Society, EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4–8 Sep 2023, EMS2023-695, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2023-695, 2023.