Modelling Climate and Health

From 15 April to 10 May, ICTP is running two consecutive schools related to climate and health. The schools are funded by ICTP, with additional generous support from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The first school is on Modelling Tools and Capacity Building in Climate and Public Health, which is followed by an advanced school on Mathematical Models of Climate Variability, Environmental Change and Infectious Diseases. Lectures given by a large number of experts and leaders in the field from across the globe will be combined with a multitude of hands-on practical exercises for the participants and students to practice the techniques they have learned.

The WMO funds are designated for candidates who will attend both schools. "The WMO-sponsored students will be benefiting from an unprecedented four weeks of intensive tuition and classes, leaving with excellent hands-onknowledge of climate and health interactions as well as statistical and dynamically modelling techniques," said Adrian Tompkins of ICTP's Earth System Physics section, a co-organizer for both courses. He added, "The WMO funds have enabled us to enroll at least another five qualified candidates from developing nations who would otherwise have missed out. In addition, many of our lecturers not only contribute much time and effort to prepare their classes, but also have gone out of their way to gain funding to support their own travel to ICTP, enabling ICTP to support more students from the south."

The WMO is a United Nations agency devoted to the state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, oceans and climate. Since it signed a memorandum of understanding with ICTP in 2009, the partnership has included a series of successful co-funded training events.