Supporting climate-resilient urban planning: 10 lessons from cities in southern Africa

The projects – FRACTAL (Future Resilience for African CiTies And Lands) and its successor, FRACTAL-Plus – took place over a seven-year period (2015-2022) in nine cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Insights from the lessons learnt project brief offer a shift from product-driven to process-driven climate services, emphasizing relationships & networks. Rachel James was a Co-Investigator and Lauren Brown provided project support. 11th September 2023.

Alan Kennedy-Asser talks to BBC about wildfires and heatwaves

Alan talked to local BBC Radio (West Midlands) about the current heatwave and wildfires in southern Europe and Hawaii, available to listen here (at 2hr, 53 mins). 11th September 2023.

Dann Mitchell speaks to Met Office about adaptation in science, through partnerships

Dann is quoted in the official Met Office blog regarding the Met Office Academic Partnership (MOAP). 9th August 2023.

New climate change and health research project in group

The group have a new interdisciplinary climate change and health research project awarded University of Bristol US Foundation funding. Chin Yang Shapland, Eunice Lo, Dann Mitchell and Kate Tilling are leading on the UNSEEN heatwave mortality project. 2nd August 2023.

Dann Mitchell given RMetS Award for Advancing Science

Dann has won the Adrian Gill Award from the Royal Meteorological Society for his work on advancing knowledge in global weather extremes and their societal impacts. Amazing! 20th July 2023.

Group talk to news about current heatwaves affecting Europe

The team have talked to multiple news outlets about the current European heatwaves. Alan Kennedy-Asser spoke to BBC News and France24 and Eunice Lo also spoke to the BBC. 20th July 2023.

Weather and Climate Research for highly renewable power systems workshop led by group

Rachel James, Hannah Bloomfield (Newcastle) and Josh Giddings hosted a workshop this week in Bristol on Weather and Climate Research for highly renewable power systems. We had a great turnout including university staff across the UK, The Met Office and lots of industry representatives leading to some thoughtful discussions and collaborations. 20th July 2023.

Emily Ball passes her viva!

Emily’s thesis was “The dynamics of polar vortices and jets on Mars and beyond” supervised by Dann Mitchell and Will Seviour (Exeter). Great news Emily! 7th July 2023.

Dann Mitchell on BBC Radio 4 discussing the health impacts of extreme heat  

Dann interviewed on BBC Radio 4 for the BBC Inside Science, Heat and Health series. You can listen here. 4th July 2023.

Team visit South Africa this month to meet collaborators

Several members of the team are currently out in South Africa visiting The University of Cape Town. Rachel James and Ailish Craig are on extended research stays for the SALIENT project meeting the University of Cape Town (UCT) and University of Pretoria partners and also project stakeholders. Dann Mitchell and Eunice Lo are visiting UCT to establish research collaborations and build strategic relationships as part of the Climate and Health steering group. 14th June 2023.

Erin Walker successfully passes her viva!

Erin’s thesis “Investigating the uncertainties surrounding the future of extreme extratropical cyclones, specifically in the North Atlantic Ocean”. Erin was supervised by Dann Mitchell. Well done Erin! 14th June 2023.

Alan Kennedy-Asser awarded internal funding looking at microclimate in Northern ireland

Alan has been awarded internal University of Bristol impact funding to work with the National Trust on microclimate monitoring methodologies for improved climate decision making. 13th June 2023.

Vikki Thompson talks about Asia climate woes mounting as heat shatters May records

Vikki spoke to China Daily about a study which showed countries that are most at risk from intense heatwaves. 7th June 2023.

Team talk about why 40°C is bearable in a desert but lethal in the tropics

Alan Kennedy-Asser, Dann Mitchell and Eunice Lo write about the different impacts of heatwaves across differential conditions such as humidity, and how prepared areas are for extreme heat. 7th June 2023.

Regan Mudhar in new Science Engagement Fellowship opportunity

Regan will take on the role of a part-time Science Engagement Fellow focused on youth and early careers, starting in June. This will involve supporting and developing new and existing initiatives with the Royal Meteorological Society to help sustain, encourage, and progress the Society’s engagement with and provisions for youth and early career individuals. 2nd June 2023.

Regan Mudhar talking to local radio about Maths and climate science

Regan spoke to Sound Art Radio for their Everybody Counts series to discuss the links between maths and climate science. Learn Devon and Skills for Life have recorded a radio series that combines maths and art in interesting and fun creative activities. You can listen here. 18th May 2023.

Dann Mitchell and Vikki Thompson discuss most at risk regions for high impact heatwaves in press

Dann and Vikki have revealed the most at-risk regions globally for high-impact heatwaves as the planet warms. This received over 300 pieces of coverage around the world, including The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN (US), and CNN’s Connect the World Programme (Middle East). 3rd May 2023.

The group at EGU23 in Vienna

Many of the climate dynamics team were at the EGU this April to collaborate and present their research across weather extremes, health, detection & attribution, and AI downscaling for tropical cyclones. 3rd May 2023.

Hannah Bloomfield discusses wind droughts and how these affect energy production

Hannah discusses wind droughts and how these affect energy production, and how Bristol is making the most of its energy production capabilities in Bristol 24/7 podcast. 3rd April 2023.

Vikki Thompson interviewed for The Economist – How to predict record-shattering weather events

Vikki was interviewed by The Economist to discuss modelling these events. 20th February 2023.

Dan Green successfully passes his MScR viva

Dan’s thesis “Recent temperature changes over Africa from multiple observational products” provides a much needed analysis of trends in temperature and hot days over Africa, and a thorough comparison of different observational products, which will be a very useful baseline for future studies into temperature changes over the continent. Dan was supervised by Rachel James and Dann Mitchell, and is now conducting PhD research into tropical cyclones in the Mozambique Channel. Well done Dan! 23rd January 2023.

Regan Mudhar blog on detectable impacts of Climate Change in the UK

Regan has written a blog for The Cabot Institute on detectable impacts of climate change in the UK; a new review for the next Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA4). 17th January 2023.

Hannah Bloomfield and Vikki Thompson in The Conversation discussing four ways winter heatwaves affect humans and nature

Hannah and Vikki have written a piece in The Conversation discussing the record breaking high January temperatures and how this affects both human society and natural ecosystems. 16th January 2023.

Vikki Thompson in Evening Standard blog discussing the likelihood of a white Christmas 

Vikki discusses the likelihood, requirements and statistics behind a white Christmas in a recent Evening Standard blog. 5th January 2023.

Dann Mitchell comments on the risks of recent winter weather

Dann spoke to the i paper about his concerns that a combination of rising energy bills, existing NHS pressures and an increase in COVID 19 infections could lead to higher than normal excess Winter deaths. Read the article here. 15th December 2022.

Hannah Bloomfield interviewed for Earth and Space Science News about wind drought

Hannah talked to Earth and Space Science News about wind drought, flooding and climate modelling. 8th December 2022.

Emily Vosper wins Allianz Climate Risk award

The Allianz Climate Risk award acknowledges PhD students and early career postdocs whose research looks to reduce the risk of extreme events that are exacerbated by climate change. Emily and her fellow finalists were hosted by the Allianz Re team last week for the for the sixth climate risk award in Munich. They each presented their work to a panel of climate risk experts and were assessed on how their research builds resilience to climate related hazards. Well done Emily! Read Emily’s blog post here. 8th December 2022.

Vikki Thompson interviewed for Nature article

Vikki discusses the unequal consequences of global warming in Nature article Climate change is costing trillions — and low-income countries are paying the price. 16th November 2022.

Rachel James at COP27

Rachel attended COP27 in Egypt last week and also participated in the first Africa Loss and Damage network meeting. 15th November 2022.

Rachel James speaks to CNBC and National Geographic ahead of the COP27 summit

Rachel spoke to CNBC about how countries should address the impacts of climate change. Rachel also spoke to National Geographic for their article on who should pay the bill for climate disasters. 9th November 2022.

Dann Mitchell and Eunice Lo featured in new Climate Change and Health videos at the University of Bristol

The University of Bristol has created a new Climate Change and Health research strand led jointly by the Cabot Institute for the Environment and the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research. These four short videos briefly explain why this area of research is so important: Why look at this complex challenge? How we are working together
and A Healthier Future. 3rd November 2022.

Eunice Lo attends International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Conference in Athens

Eunice attended the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Conference held in Athens, 18th – 21th September and presented a poster on ‘heat stress associations with mortality’. 3rd October 2022.

Daniel Cotterill Met Office blog discussing why future summers may last longer

Daniel’s discusses his Climate Dynamics paper Future extension of the UK summer and its impact on autumn precipitation in Met Office blog. 3rd October 2022.

Vikki Thompson interviewed in Washington Post and Scientific American

Vikki discusses China’s summer heat wave in the Washington Post and why this hot summer is one of the coolest of the rest of our lives n Scientific American. 8th September 2022.

Team media and interviews for August heatwave and droughts

The team have been interviewed by numerous media outlets and written further articles on the current heatwave. Downplaying the catastrophic health impact of heatwaves costs lives in the BMJ, how climate breakdown is supercharging toll of extreme weather article in the Guardian and Extreme heatwaves: surprising lessons from the record warmth in Nature. 10th August 2022.

Group media interviews and blogs for July heatwave

The group have engaged with over 50 interviews and blogs during the current heatwave in the UK. This includes Sky News, iNews, BBC News, The Guardian and Evening Standard. 20th July 2022.

Vikki Thompson’s comments about heatwaves picked up by over 200 news outlets

Vikki said heatwaves were one of the deadliest hazards posed to humans and were linked to 3,000 deaths last year. Her comments were picked up by over 200 news outlets including The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Times, Bloomberg, Bristol Post, and regional newspapers up and down the country. Vikki was also interviewed on BBC Radio 5. 21st June 2022.

Reality Check: Are the hottest cities in the world becoming uninhabitable thanks to climate change?

Dann Mitchell writes article for BBC Science Focus Magazine on heatwaves. 20th June 2022.

Congratulations to Eunice Lo and Hannah Bloomfield on their new fellowships!

Eunice Lo has been awarded the Bristol Climate Change and Health Fellowship. Hannah Bloomfield has been awarded an RMetS Science Engagement Fellowship. Well done both! 8th June 2022.

Hannah Blomfield discusses the viability of wind energy

Hannah talked to Euro News about powering up wind energy in a world of climate variability. 8th June 2022.

Bristol Climate Dynamics Team at EGU!

We had a great team turnout for the EGU in Vienna with Vikki Thompson and Hannah Bloomfield presenting in person and online talks from Peter Watson, Eunice Lo, Emily Vosper and Henry Addison. 5th June 2022.

Tornadoes: Everything you need to know

Dann has written an article for BBC’s Science Focus magazine all about tornadoes! 16th May 2022.

Climate change isn’t just making cyclones worse, it’s making the floods they cause worse too

Laurence Hawker, Dann Mitchell and Natalie Lord have written an article for The Conversation on super cyclones including discussion of cyclone Amphan in 2020. 16th May 2022.

Vikki Thompson’s new paper published in Science Advances

Vikki’s new paper The 2021 western North America heat wave among the most extreme events ever recorded globally is published in Science Advances. The news was covered by over 200 outlets worldwide including The Conversation. 9th May 2022.

Heat Stress and Women’s Health Workshop

Eunice Lo and Gemma Sharp (Bristol Medical School) led a two-day workshop on the 12th & 13th April about Heat Stress and Women’s Health. The workshop successfully brought together climate scientists, epidemiologists, NHS consultants and human geographers to discuss how a warming climate affects pregnancy, births, menopause, and so much more. Many exciting new collaborations to come! 20th April 2022.

Dann Mitchell on The Met Office Mostly Weather podcast

Dann is featured on The Met Office Mostly Weather podcast which was originally part of a Twitter spaces chat. 5th April 2022.

Storm Eunice: Was climate change responsible?

Storm Eunice has caused severe flooding and damage across parts of the UK. Dann spoke to Science Focus about whether climate change was responsible for the storm. Eunice was also interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol. 18th February 2022.

Climate change: US sea levels to rise as much in 30 years as in previous hundred, study warns

In a recent Sky News article, group member Vikki Thompson said the UK was “likely to experience as much sea level rise as occurred in the last century in the next 30 years, and this will lead to an increase in coastal flooding”. 16th February 2022.

What is going on at Jupiter’s poles?

Simon Clark, Climate Scientist YouTuber, talks to Dann about his Polar Vortices in Planetary Atmospheres Reviews of Geophysics December 2021 paper. 1st February 2022.

Wheel of Time climate model simulation

Dann Mitchell and Emily Ball have created a climate model simulation based on the Wheel of Time book series, check it out! Have a read of simulating the climate of these books in The Conversation article. 14th January 2022.

The Conversation article  on Canada flooding after summer heatwave

Vikki has written an article for The Conversation about ‘Canada’s flood havoc after summer heatwave shows how climate disasters combine to do extra damage‘. 19th November 2021.

Met Office Academic Partnership Vice Chancellor dinner in Bristol

The University of Bristol hosted a Met Office Academic Partnership (MOAP) dinner in Bristol attended by Vice-Chancellors, Chief Scientist and Science Partnership Managers of the Met Office, MOAP Joint Chairs and Co-Chairs from the University of Bristol, University of Exeter, Leeds University, University of Oxford, Reading University and the Met Office. 16th November 2021.

Dann Mitchell interviewed by RMetS at COP26

Dann interviewed as part of MetMatters COP26 Daily Bulletin ‘Cities, Regions and the Built Environment’. You can view the YouTube video here. 11th November 2021.

Dann Mitchell on panel for Public Health in a warmer world – Met Office COP26 event

Dann was on the panel and presented ‘Temperature-related hazards in a warmer world’ at COP26 in Glasgow today in a a Met Office COP26 science pavilion event. Watch it here. 10th November 2021.  

Eunice Lo’s Alumni blog on the impact of seed funding on developing climate research

Eunice has written an impact report about how alumni donations have been used in this University of Bristol Alumni blog. 3rd November 2021.

Royal invitation for Dann Mitchell 

Dann was recently invited to be on a Q&A panel to discuss climate change hosted by Prince Charles at the COP26 in Glasgow. 2nd November 2021.

Cabot blog about violence and mental health in a warming world

Dann and Vikki have contributed to a Cabot blog on ‘Violence and mental health are likely to get worse in a warming world’. 1st November 2021.

All-Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group (APPG) panel includes Dann Mitchell

APPG co-hosted an online event with Environment APPG, led by Environment APPG Chair Anthony Browne MP and APPCCG Chair Caroline Lucas MP, sharing clips from the Richard Gere narrated film Earth Emergency followed by a discussion and Q&A with the film creators and Dann was included on the expert panel.
27th October 2021.

RMetS podcast with Eunice Lo on UK heatwaves

Eunice speaks to RMetS in podcast discussing ‘How will climate change affect UK heatwaves?‘. 22nd October 2021.

The Conversation article on what Europe’s exceptionally low winds mean for the future energy grid

Hannah Bloomfield has written an article for  The Conversation about ‘What Europe’s exceptionally low winds mean for the future energy grid?‘ which links to the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow. 21st October 2021.

Eunice Lo in Physics World 

Eunice has been interviewed for Physics World ‘Getting physical with the climate crisis’. You can also hear Eunice discussing ‘COP26 special: extreme heat, cloud mysteries and climate tipping points’ in this Physics World podcast. 6th October 2021.

Eunice Lo’s career profile on ‘Green jobs for physics graduates’ out in Physics World

Eunice is featured in Physics World article ‘Green jobs for physics graduates: policy and behaviour change‘ talking about building a greener, more sustainable future in the field of policy and behaviour change. 2nd October 2021.

Emily Ball’s new paper published in The Planetary Science Journal

The roles of latent heating and dust in the structure and variability of the northern Martian polar vortex published in The Planetary Science Journal. 29th September 2021.

Cabot conversations on climate change featuring Dann Mitchell and Eunice Lo

Both Dann and Eunice are interviewed as part of a series of podcasts for Cabot Conversations around climate change in the run up to COP26. Every episode features two experts from different disciplines, from across the Cabot Institute for the Environment and beyond, plus an artist who will be creating a stunning piece of art in real time as they listen to the podcast. 24th August – Climate Emergency featuring Dame Julia Slingo, Dr Dann Mitchell and artist Chi Yien Snow. 7th September – Heatwaves and Health featuring Dr Eunice Lo, Professor Richard Morris and artist Queenie Fleur Maidment-Otlet. 18th August 2021.  

Cabot Institute scientists including Dann Mitchell and Eunice Lo contribute to high-profile IPCC climate report

Dann and Eunice both contributed to Chapter 3 – Human influence on the climate system. For further information have a read on the Cabot blog. 9th August 2021.

Dann Mitchell talks to Channel 4 news about how the UK can adapt to the heat expected in the coming decades

Dann was interviewed by Channel 4 News today and the story was also included in ITV News, The Guardian, Daily Mail and The Independent. 3rd August 2021.

Vikki Thompson blogs about Heatwaves & Health on behalf of RMetS

Vikki Thompson talks to the Science Council about heatwaves in the UK. 3rd August 2021.

Guardian article about ‘Record-shattering’ heat becoming much more likely

Vikki was quoted in the Guardian this week discussing climate change and the need to reduce global emissions.  26th July 2021.

BBC article about eco-friendly ways to stay cool in a heatwave

Vikki was quoted in the BBC today discussing eco-friendly tips to stay cool in a heatwave. This was also featured in The Guardian and on Yahoo – have a read! 21st July 2021.

Dann Mitchell’s paper published in Nature Climate Change in the media

Dann Mitchell receives Turing Fellowship

Dann has been awarded a Turing Fellowship to develop interdisciplinary links on climate change, health, and data science across the partnership. Congrats Dann! 29th March 2021.  

Richard Hall to feature on BBC’s Weather World 

Richard will be on BBC’s Weather World programme on the 2nd April discussing Sudden Stratospheric Warming, watch it here. 24th March 2021.

Richard Hall interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol

Richard Hall interviewed on the Breakfast programme this morning discussing a Sudden Stratospheric Warming which occurred on the 5th January and may be related to cold extremes over North West Europe. 7th January 2021.

Dann Mitchell on Britains Wildest Weather C4 programme

Dann Mitchell featured on Channel 4’s Britains Wildest Weather 2020 this weekend. 5th December 2020.

GW4 Early Career Climate Symposia co-chaired by Natalie Lord

Natalie Lord was co-chair of a team of ECRs who organised the first GW4 Early Career Climate Symposia, held in December. This interactive online event, titled “Climate Change: Science and Society”, focused on interdisciplinary research on global climate change, particularly around the main themes of the impacts of climate change, mobilising societal change, and sustainable solutions. 4th December 2020.

What are the three biggest challenges associated with climate change? Meeting participant wordcloud

First joint partnership meeting with Met Office

Eunice Lo organised our first collaboration meeting between The University of Bristol and The Met Office as part of our newly awarded academic partnership. The theme was ‘Taking Weather and Climate through to Human Health’. 22nd October 2020.

Eunice Lo and Dann Mitchell write guest post for Carbon Brief

Eunice and Dann have written a guest post in Carbon Brief –  How ‘urban heat islands’ will intensify heatwaves in UK cities. 2nd October 2020.

Emily Vosper’s research on future hurricane projections in the news 

Devastating hurricanes could be up to five times more likely in the Caribbean if tougher global warming targets are missed – Emily Vosper has been featured in international news articles during August in relation to Hurricane Laura for her work on future projections of hurricane rainfall in the Caribbean. 2nd September 2020.

Eunice Lo and Dann Mitchell write new Bristol in Brief article

PolicyBristol published new Bristol in Brief article on Extreme weather and their impacts under climate change written by Eunice Lo and Dann Mitchell. PolicyBristol aims to enhance the influence and impact of research from across the University of Bristol on policy and practice at the local, national and international level. 12th August 2020.

Cabot Institute for the Environment feature case study on team’s hurricane risk work

Mitigating hurricane risk in the Caribbean and beyond case study featured on The University of Bristol’s Cabot Institute for the Environment webpage. 12th August 2020.

Erin Walker wins poster presentation prize!

Congrats to group member Erin Walker who won a poster presentation prize this week at the RMetSoc Student and Early Career Conference. 1st July 2020.

Risk of 40C heat in the UK ‘rapidly increasing’

Dann Mitchell and Eunice Lo discuss the the chances of anywhere in the UK hitting 40C over the next decade in Carbon Brief. 30th June 2020.

BBC article on highest ever temperatures in Arctic Circle

Have a read of this BBC article about the Arctic Circle seeing it’s ‘highest-ever’ recorded temperatures with input from Dann Mitchell. 22nd June 2020.

Emily Vosper’s paper published

Emily V’s paper published titled ‘Extreme hurricane rainfall affecting the Caribbean mitigated by the Paris Agreement goals’ in ERL. 28th May 2020.

Dann Mitchell talks to Sky News about Cyclone Amphan