Advancing Usable Climate Services: I-CISK Consortium Showcases Innovations at EGU 2025
Several members of the I-CISK consortium will attend the European Geosciences Union 2025 in Vienna from April 28th to May 2nd. Climate services (CS) practitioners and researchers (including Early Career Researchers) presented their contributions across diverse topics.
Enhancing the usefulness and usability of Drought Early Action Protocols through co-creation
[Balbina Nyamakura, Micha Werner, Ilyas Masih, Daniele Castellana, and Marc van den Homberg]
This presentation will highlight a case study from our Lesotho Living Lab. It will showcase the interactions occurring between the key members of the Multi-Actor Platform in the development of Drought Early Action protocols through co-creation. It will then unpack preliminary pathways through which the co-creation process is taking to contribute towards the use of climate services in decision-making.
Experiences from seven living labs in the use of local knowledge and local data for tailored climate services
[Lluís Pesquer, Ilias Pechlivanidis, Katherine Egan, Alexandros Ziogas, Paolo Mazzoli, Daniele Castellana, Amanda Batlle, Ester Prat, and Stefano Bagli]
We will show the lessons learnt, in terms of CS usability, within the co-creation process developed in the seven I-CISK Living Labs. This work focuses on the contribution of local data and local knowledge in the local adaptations of forecast modelling. It discusses the barriers and suggested solutions about the integration in the I-CISK user-tailored CS, improving the local impact of climate predictions.
Co-creating multi-scalar climate services tailored to the needs of multiple sectors in Crete, Greece
[Alexandros Ziogas, Ilyas Masih, Apostolos Tzimas, Evangelos Romas, Ilias Pechlivanidis, Rebecca Emerton, and Micha Werner]
We present the co-creation of multi-scalar CS, aiming to address short and long-term needs of multiple sectors, in a multi-sectoral approach towards the tourism product, to build resilience against hydro-climatic disaster risks, for the Island of Crete, Greece. We highlight the co-development effort which has been undertaken under I-CISK, which was based on bringing together key players in the CS value chain (providers, purveyors and end users) and on the active contribution of a Multi-Actor Platform (MAP), which was composed of members representing policy makers; business and industry; academia and research; and civil society organisations from the sectors addressed. The multi-sectoral approach both addresses the complexity of climate change impact on an economic sector as well as increases awareness over the aspects of interrelated impacts and the need of holistic approach towards adaptation planning.
Local knowledge integration to develop user tailored hydroclimatic service
[Nikoletta Ropero, Lucia De Stefano, Nuria Hernández-Mora]
Nikol presented the process of integrating local knowledge into CS development. This research explores a methodology for collecting qualitative information regarding groundwater. Semi-structured interviews with landowners, experts from different areas and local people from Los Pedroches (Spain) allowed advancements in the knowledge of the fractured aquifer. Technical and scientific knowledge generated a structured set of data and identified data gaps. Knowledge gaps were filled based on local knowledge collected and verified with available hydrogeological information to define the physical environment of the groundwater model. Preliminary findings on the qualitative information collected and its integration into the modelling phase were outlined in the presentation.
Combining Knowledges and Co-Imagining the Use of Climate Services through Serious Gaming
[Sumiran Rastogi, Micha Werner, Nora van Cauwenbergh]
Sumiran presented a poster showcasing the importance of integrating local knowledge within CS. Her research explores whether accessibility and perceived usability of climate information can be improved when local knowledge is integrated with seasonal forecasts, using serious gaming as a participatory tool. The serious game, Farm or Fallow, simulates farming livelihoods based on insights from participatory research conducted in the Alazani River Basin, Georgia. This interactive framework enables users to engage with weather forecasts that they have co-created while reflecting on their decision-making processes. The poster presented preliminary findings from gameplay sessions with different groups. The research looks at how participants combine different knowledge systems during gameplay and whether the experience enhances their ability to articulate the value of climate services from a user-centred perspective.
Harmonizing Multi-Source Meteorological Data: A Reproducible Approach for Drought Monitoring
[Eirini Trypidaki, Amanda Batlle-Morera, Lluís Pesquer, Cristina Domingo-Marimon]
We will show the quality control (QC) and harmonization processes of meteorological datasets (1950–2023 time series of mean monthly temperature and cumulative precipitation) from different governamental providers at the Ebro basin, Spain’s largest catchment. The QC process involves several steps, including testing for temporal and spatial consistency, outlier detection, duplicate detection, missing data analysis, and cross-validation.