Winter is here. In December 2020, China was hit by one of the most severe cold snaps in nearly seven years, with temperatures hitting record lows in many parts of the country. On the morning of 7th January, Beijing recorded a temperature of -19.5 degrees Celsius, the lowest recorded since 1966. The widespread cold snap has brought heavy burdens and inconvenience in urban areas. The phrase ‘global warming’ doesn’t literaturely imply a simple temperature rise, in fact it will be an increasing frequency of extreme weather patterns, of which this recent extreme cold snap is but one small part.

Against the background of global warming, extreme weather patterns such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall have become more pronounced. Since 1951, China has seen a significant increase in average temperatures and an increasing frequency of extreme temperatures. Furthermore, the 2019 Global Climate Status Statement released by the World Meteorological Organisation shows that 2015 to 2019 was the hottest five-year period on record.

Climate services can help urban planners design and operate infrastructure and provide planning insights for extreme weather events. They can use their ongoing observations to understand current risks and forecast the future of the climate. They can then match the required actions to perceived threats, and protect the urban infrastructure deemed vulnerable in the most cost-effective way. As this cold snap in China comes to an end, we want to take this opportunity to look to the future and invite experts from a wide range of fields to discuss how scientific tools can be used to assist in the management of urban and building operations.

This webinar showcases some of the outcomes of the six year Sino-British Climate Science Services Partnership (CSSP) China project from 2014-2020, which is a joint effort between climate scientists from both countries. This webinar will invite scientists and engineers to present the tools they have developed for businesses and policy makers, to make them aware of current and future climate risks. We will focus on China’s Yangtze River Delta region, and discuss the role and application of climate services in urban operations. Discussion will focus on scientific modelling, climate service tools, and the crisis response of urban and building dimensions.


Webinar Details:
Date: Thursday 28th January 2021
Time: 16:00-18:00 (CST), 8:00-10:00 (BST)
Language: English and Chinese, with simultaneous interpretation provided
 
 
Webinar Host:
Vicky Lucas
Training Development Manager, The Institute for Environmental Analytics, University of Reading

Webinar Agenda:
 

Webinar Platform:
This webinar will be held on ZOOM. It is important that you download and install Zoom (either as desktop client or mobile app) in advance of the session. Please use the correct version of Zoom, as using a different one may result in difficulties in joining the session. The desktop client and mobile app are both available at:
https://zoom.us/support/download, and https://zoom.com.cn/download
 
Speaker Profiles:
 
Vicky Lucas
Training Development Manager
Institute for Environmental Analytics, University of Reading
 
  Vicky Lucas is a physicist, air quality scientist and weather forecaster. Her professional experiences include meteorological research, working in the commercial energy sector and developing environmental regulation policies for air quality, training design and delivery topics, as well as communicating with a range of end users. Vicky has also developed and delivered learning activities to global audiences covering climate science, tropical cyclone forecasting, environmental big data, climate innovation, and data management.
 
Victoria Ramsey
Climate Services Scientist
Met Office
 
 Victoria Ramsey is part of the Urban Climate Services team at the Met Office. Her focus is engaging with urban stakeholders to develop novel approaches in delivering climate information in a usable and tailored way, to assist decision making. Her work involves using climate information to analyse climate hazards and vulnerability, tailored to the specific requirements of users. Her previous experience includes environmental consultancy in the private sector, and she holds a master’s degree in Climate Change.
 
About the Met Office
The Met Office is the UK’s national meteorological service, providing critical weather services and world-leading climate science. It translates complex science, predictions and projections into accessible advice that can be acted on, and works with partners worldwide to help them manage their climate-related risks. The Urban Climate Services team within the Met Office is working to engage with users of climate information in Chinese cities as part of the Climate Science for Service ​Partnership (CSSP) China project, supporting by the UK Government’s Newton Fund. This involves identifying requirements for climate information at city level to develop prototype climate services and inform underpinning scientific research.

Dr Jon Blower
Chief Technology Officer
Institute for Environmental Analytics (IEA)
 
Dr Jon Blower is the Chief Technology Officer for the Institute for Environmental Analytics (IEA). He leads a number of collaborative projects in the area of environmental informatics and visualisation, applying advanced techniques in information technology to make environmental information more useful for decision-makers.
 
Dr Maria Sunyer
Associate Director of Fire Risk & Resilience Department
Arup’s Advanced Digital Engineering
 
 Dr Maria Sunyer is a climate change adaptation and resilience consultant with Arup’s Advanced Digital Engineering. She has more than ten years of experience in the field of climate change impacts and climate change resilience. Her area of expertise is the assessment of climate change risks and the development of adaptation and resilience strategies. Her work in this area includes the analysis of climate change projections, vulnerability and risk assessments as well as advising organisations on measures, plans and strategies to adapt to climate change. Maria is experienced in applying the latest climate science and research findings to real-life projects. Prior to joining Arup, Maria worked in academic research on climate change.
 
 Dr Allen Sun
Associate Director of Fire Risk & Resilience Department
Arup China
 
 Dr Allen Sun is the Associate Director of Fire Risk & Resilience Department of the Arup China Region. Allen focuses on research and the field of building fire protection, including regional fire risk assessment and urban resilience design. As the project leader, Allen has worked on various large-scale projects, including the Risk Assessment for Shanghai Tower, the Xiong’an New City boot area urban resilience design, and Chengdu unicorn island urban resilience design. Allen is also an expert committee member of the Hazard Prevention Research Institution of MOHURD (Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the PRC), as well as one of the authors of Fire Safety of Urban Complex.

Timson Chen
Senior Associate Director
Savills Property Services (Beijing) Co LTD
 
Timson Chen is the Technical Director of Savills China Sustainability Council (SCSC), with over ten years of sustainable real estate consulting experience. He is the only expert in China to have LEED AP, WELL AP, SITES AP and EDGE expert certification at the same time. He has trained thousands of LEED and WELL APs, and has been responsible for nearly 100 LEED and WELL certification projects.