What is a regional climate model ?

A Global Climate Model (GCM) can provide reliable climate information on global, continental and large regional scales covering what could be a vastly differing landscape (from very mountainous to flat coastal plains for example) with greatly varying potential for floods, droughts or other extreme events. Horizontal resolution limits the possibility to address smaller scale ranging from regional to local. Regional Climate Models (RCM) applied with higher spatial resolution over a limited area and driven by GCMs can provide more appropriate information on such smaller scales supporting more detailed impact and adaptation assessment and planning.

Why do we need regional climate modeling ?

Global Climate Models (GCM) can provide us with projections of how the climate of the Earth may change in the future. These results are the main motivation for the international community to take decisions on climate change mitigation. However, the impacts of a changing climate, and the adaptation strategies required to deal with them, will occur on more regional and national scales. This is where Regional Climate Models (RCMs) have an important role to play by providing projections with much greater detail and more accurate representation of localized extreme events.

What are regional climate projections?

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More information about CORDEX can be found at http://www.cordex.org/

What is a regional climate model ?

A Global Climate Model (GCM) can provide reliable climate information on global, continental and large regional scales covering what could be a vastly differing landscape (from very mountainous to flat coastal plains for example) with greatly varying potential for floods, droughts or other extreme events. Horizontal resolution limits the possibility to address smaller scale ranging from regional to local. Regional Climate Models (RCM) applied with higher spatial resolution over a limited area and driven by GCMs can provide more appropriate information on such smaller scales supporting more detailed impact and adaptation assessment and planning.

Why do we need regional climate modeling ?

Global Climate Models (GCM) can provide us with projections of how the climate of the Earth may change in the future. These results are the main motivation for the international community to take decisions on climate change mitigation. However, the impacts of a changing climate, and the adaptation strategies required to deal with them, will occur on more regional and national scales. This is where Regional Climate Models (RCMs) have an important role to play by providing projections with much greater detail and more accurate representation of localized extreme events.