Doug Parker
@dougparkermeteo.bsky.social
Professor of Meteorology at the University of Leeds; Research Professor at NORCE. Weather; climate; fluid dynamics; tropics and midlatitudes; storms and cyclones. Bicycles.
I'm honoured to have represented @universityofleeds.bsky.social today at the 30th anniversary of the Queen Elizabeth Prizes at the Mansion House in London. Here I am with Alan Haywood, and our good friend Sue Gray from Reading.
September 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I'm honoured to have represented @universityofleeds.bsky.social today at the 30th anniversary of the Queen Elizabeth Prizes at the Mansion House in London. Here I am with Alan Haywood, and our good friend Sue Gray from Reading.
Our paper showing the differences between European and African weather forecast accuracy has appeared online. The results will not surprise meteorologists, but the international development community needs to hear this.
Weather forecasting in Africa needs to be done differently.
Weather forecasting in Africa needs to be done differently.
New paper from Richard Keane
rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Both physical and machine-learning (ML) models "perform better on smaller scales and shorter lead times at middle latitudes and on larger scales and longer lead times at tropical latitudes."
rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Both physical and machine-learning (ML) models "perform better on smaller scales and shorter lead times at middle latitudes and on larger scales and longer lead times at tropical latitudes."
Mid‐Latitude Versus Tropical Scales of Predictability and Their Implications for Forecasting
We show that forecasts perform better in mid-latitudes on shorter scales, and better in tropical latitudes on longer scales (quantified here over Europe and Africa), with a ‘crossover’ at 5–7 days, f....
rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 13, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Our paper showing the differences between European and African weather forecast accuracy has appeared online. The results will not surprise meteorologists, but the international development community needs to hear this.
Weather forecasting in Africa needs to be done differently.
Weather forecasting in Africa needs to be done differently.
I had a SWIFT reunion with Dr Bethwel Mutai from University of Nairobi who's here for the Scenarios Forum. Bethwel is doing great work in Kenya and Somalia on severe weather prediction.
July 18, 2025 at 12:25 PM
I had a SWIFT reunion with Dr Bethwel Mutai from University of Nairobi who's here for the Scenarios Forum. Bethwel is doing great work in Kenya and Somalia on severe weather prediction.
Reposted by Doug Parker
We're delighted to welcome over 300 delegates to the University of Leeds (and plenty more online) for Scenarios Forum 2025 ✨
Over the next 3 days, experts from across the world will meet to explore the development of global change scenarios, their application, and relevance to diverse challenges.
Over the next 3 days, experts from across the world will meet to explore the development of global change scenarios, their application, and relevance to diverse challenges.
July 16, 2025 at 10:03 AM
We're delighted to welcome over 300 delegates to the University of Leeds (and plenty more online) for Scenarios Forum 2025 ✨
Over the next 3 days, experts from across the world will meet to explore the development of global change scenarios, their application, and relevance to diverse challenges.
Over the next 3 days, experts from across the world will meet to explore the development of global change scenarios, their application, and relevance to diverse challenges.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
In this new paper we describe the trade off between forecast precision and accuracy. The smaller the location you are considering, the lower your forecast accuracy and to get acceptable accuracy we need to increase the spatial scale, the longer we try to predict
In this new paper we describe the trade off between forecast precision and accuracy. The smaller the location you are considering, the lower your forecast accuracy and to get acceptable accuracy we need to increase the spatial scale, the longer we try to predict
Balancing accuracy versus precision: Enhancing the usability of sub-seasonal forecasts
Forecasts are essential for climate adaptation and preparedness, such as in early warning systems and impact models. A key limitation to their practic…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 16, 2025 at 2:02 PM
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
In this new paper we describe the trade off between forecast precision and accuracy. The smaller the location you are considering, the lower your forecast accuracy and to get acceptable accuracy we need to increase the spatial scale, the longer we try to predict
In this new paper we describe the trade off between forecast precision and accuracy. The smaller the location you are considering, the lower your forecast accuracy and to get acceptable accuracy we need to increase the spatial scale, the longer we try to predict
johnhammersley.substack.com/p/dialogue-b...
Art? Philosophy? Fluid Dynamics? Chaos? I very much enjoyed a dialogue with John Hammersley, which he has turned into something unique.
Art? Philosophy? Fluid Dynamics? Chaos? I very much enjoyed a dialogue with John Hammersley, which he has turned into something unique.
Dialogue between an artist and Flow
John Hammersley and Douglas Parker
johnhammersley.substack.com
July 14, 2025 at 11:42 AM
johnhammersley.substack.com/p/dialogue-b...
Art? Philosophy? Fluid Dynamics? Chaos? I very much enjoyed a dialogue with John Hammersley, which he has turned into something unique.
Art? Philosophy? Fluid Dynamics? Chaos? I very much enjoyed a dialogue with John Hammersley, which he has turned into something unique.
Reposted by Doug Parker
We’re teaming up with institutions in Ghana to combat climate challenges and nurture the next generation of scientists.
Ghana is vulnerable to lightning and storms, but researchers are working together to install ground-based data sensors across Ghana to help improve storm prediction. 🔭🌍
Ghana is vulnerable to lightning and storms, but researchers are working together to install ground-based data sensors across Ghana to help improve storm prediction. 🔭🌍
April 24, 2025 at 9:24 AM
We’re teaming up with institutions in Ghana to combat climate challenges and nurture the next generation of scientists.
Ghana is vulnerable to lightning and storms, but researchers are working together to install ground-based data sensors across Ghana to help improve storm prediction. 🔭🌍
Ghana is vulnerable to lightning and storms, but researchers are working together to install ground-based data sensors across Ghana to help improve storm prediction. 🔭🌍
Reposted by Doug Parker
April 25, 2025 at 9:36 AM
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
People associate tropical deforestation with carbon loss and ecological impacts. The deforestation also causes a reduction in rainfall, as we show in this paper.
People associate tropical deforestation with carbon loss and ecological impacts. The deforestation also causes a reduction in rainfall, as we show in this paper.
Recent Forest Loss in the Brazilian Amazon Causes Substantial Reductions in Dry Season Precipitation
Recent forest loss (3.2%) in the Brazilian Amazon causes a mean 5.4% reduction in dry season precipitation 76.9% of reduced precipitation is due to decreased nonlocal water vapor, not local evapo...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 25, 2025 at 3:41 PM
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
People associate tropical deforestation with carbon loss and ecological impacts. The deforestation also causes a reduction in rainfall, as we show in this paper.
People associate tropical deforestation with carbon loss and ecological impacts. The deforestation also causes a reduction in rainfall, as we show in this paper.
Reposted by Doug Parker
Leeds launch event for Measures of Weather —Thursday 1 May 18.30 at Workshop Theatre. I’ll be in conversation with Professor of Meteorology @dougparkermeteo.bsky.social FREE! Save the date! Book tickets via Eventbrite. And please share! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-of-...
April 9, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Leeds launch event for Measures of Weather —Thursday 1 May 18.30 at Workshop Theatre. I’ll be in conversation with Professor of Meteorology @dougparkermeteo.bsky.social FREE! Save the date! Book tickets via Eventbrite. And please share! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-of-...
youtu.be/nzPzvdbswnI?...
You can now view our panel discussion on the future of African weather forecasting, from the Turing Centre's AIUK event last month.
You can now view our panel discussion on the future of African weather forecasting, from the Turing Centre's AIUK event last month.
How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa
YouTube video by AI UK
youtu.be
April 11, 2025 at 2:37 PM
youtu.be/nzPzvdbswnI?...
You can now view our panel discussion on the future of African weather forecasting, from the Turing Centre's AIUK event last month.
You can now view our panel discussion on the future of African weather forecasting, from the Turing Centre's AIUK event last month.
poetry.leeds.ac.uk/events/launc...
I have been invited to contribute to the launch of J R Carpenter's collection of poetry exploring weather and its relations to language, culture and science. All welcome, 1st May at 1830.
I have been invited to contribute to the launch of J R Carpenter's collection of poetry exploring weather and its relations to language, culture and science. All welcome, 1st May at 1830.
Launch of J.R. Carpenter's Measures of Weather | University of Leeds Poetry Centre
poetry.leeds.ac.uk
April 6, 2025 at 1:55 PM
poetry.leeds.ac.uk/events/launc...
I have been invited to contribute to the launch of J R Carpenter's collection of poetry exploring weather and its relations to language, culture and science. All welcome, 1st May at 1830.
I have been invited to contribute to the launch of J R Carpenter's collection of poetry exploring weather and its relations to language, culture and science. All welcome, 1st May at 1830.
As global temperatures rise, storms are getting more extreme. Our new study in Nature Geoscience led by @drexomole.bsky.social shows how the feedback with soil moisture makes them more extreme still, in various hotspots around the world.
Large contrasts in soil moisture levels can increase the intensity of destructive storms ⛈️ which cause flooding and mudslides in hotspots across the globe, according to new research by @ukceh.bsky.social @johnmarsham.bsky.social @dougparkermeteo.bsky.social
www.leeds.ac.uk/main-index/n...
www.leeds.ac.uk/main-index/n...
Soil conditions significantly increase rainfall in megastorm hotspots
Large contrasts in soil moisture levels over a wide area can increase the size and intensity of so-called megastorms which cause flooding and mudslides in hotspots across the globe.
www.leeds.ac.uk
April 4, 2025 at 2:23 PM
As global temperatures rise, storms are getting more extreme. Our new study in Nature Geoscience led by @drexomole.bsky.social shows how the feedback with soil moisture makes them more extreme still, in various hotspots around the world.
WISER-EWSA friends, Nico from SAWS, Peggy from ZMD and @adriaanper.bsky.social from Tyrsky, Finland, as guests of the Mozambique met office, INAM, for World Meteorological Day and the 75th anniversary of the World Meteorological Organisation. This afternoon, back to nowcasting of storms.
March 24, 2025 at 10:02 AM
WISER-EWSA friends, Nico from SAWS, Peggy from ZMD and @adriaanper.bsky.social from Tyrsky, Finland, as guests of the Mozambique met office, INAM, for World Meteorological Day and the 75th anniversary of the World Meteorological Organisation. This afternoon, back to nowcasting of storms.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
They are calling this the second revolution in AI weather prediction. Very exciting. We have been working with this team at Turing & Cambridge and with our West African partners to develop plans to use these models to better support African agriculture.
They are calling this the second revolution in AI weather prediction. Very exciting. We have been working with this team at Turing & Cambridge and with our West African partners to develop plans to use these models to better support African agriculture.
AI-driven weather prediction breakthrough reported
Researchers say Aardvark Weather uses thousands of times less computing power and is much faster than current systems
www.theguardian.com
March 21, 2025 at 8:50 AM
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
They are calling this the second revolution in AI weather prediction. Very exciting. We have been working with this team at Turing & Cambridge and with our West African partners to develop plans to use these models to better support African agriculture.
They are calling this the second revolution in AI weather prediction. Very exciting. We have been working with this team at Turing & Cambridge and with our West African partners to develop plans to use these models to better support African agriculture.
Nice family group at the AI-UK meeting. Caroline Bain from @metoffice.bsky.social was my former PhD student and @michaelbaidu.bsky.social was hers. We are all on a panel to discuss the opportunities of AI forecasting for Africa.
March 17, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Nice family group at the AI-UK meeting. Caroline Bain from @metoffice.bsky.social was my former PhD student and @michaelbaidu.bsky.social was hers. We are all on a panel to discuss the opportunities of AI forecasting for Africa.
ai-uk.turing.ac.uk/programme-20...
I'm travelling to London this morning with @michaelbaidu.bsky.social to join a panel discussion at AI-UK, the UK's showcase for data science and AI. "How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa?"
I'm travelling to London this morning with @michaelbaidu.bsky.social to join a panel discussion at AI-UK, the UK's showcase for data science and AI. "How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa?"
Programme – The Alan Turing Institute
ai-uk.turing.ac.uk
March 17, 2025 at 10:30 AM
ai-uk.turing.ac.uk/programme-20...
I'm travelling to London this morning with @michaelbaidu.bsky.social to join a panel discussion at AI-UK, the UK's showcase for data science and AI. "How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa?"
I'm travelling to London this morning with @michaelbaidu.bsky.social to join a panel discussion at AI-UK, the UK's showcase for data science and AI. "How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa?"
It was lovely to catch up with Jemimah Gacheru from Kenya Meteorological Department today. Jemimah was visiting Leeds during her secondment at @ukceh.bsky.social .
March 12, 2025 at 9:32 PM
It was lovely to catch up with Jemimah Gacheru from Kenya Meteorological Department today. Jemimah was visiting Leeds during her secondment at @ukceh.bsky.social .
luckysoap.com/apictureofwi...
I had the pleasure of meeting @jrcarpenter.bsky.social today, a practising poet and artist working at @universityofleeds.bsky.social. She is fascinated by history, culture and language in meteorology. I find this web page of hers to be quite haunting.
I had the pleasure of meeting @jrcarpenter.bsky.social today, a practising poet and artist working at @universityofleeds.bsky.social. She is fascinated by history, culture and language in meteorology. I find this web page of hers to be quite haunting.
This is a Picture of Wind || J. R. Carpenter
Part poetic almanac, part private weather diary, and part live wind report for the South West of England, this work calls attention to climate change by picturing through variations in language distur...
luckysoap.com
March 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
luckysoap.com/apictureofwi...
I had the pleasure of meeting @jrcarpenter.bsky.social today, a practising poet and artist working at @universityofleeds.bsky.social. She is fascinated by history, culture and language in meteorology. I find this web page of hers to be quite haunting.
I had the pleasure of meeting @jrcarpenter.bsky.social today, a practising poet and artist working at @universityofleeds.bsky.social. She is fascinated by history, culture and language in meteorology. I find this web page of hers to be quite haunting.
Reposted by Doug Parker
Great to see @domspracklen.bsky.social explaining this fascinating @universityofleeds.bsky.social study showing that reintroducing wolves to the Scottish Highlands could help address the climate emergency 🐺
Read the full story 👇
bit.ly/4hFeNvM
Read the full story 👇
bit.ly/4hFeNvM
February 18, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Great to see @domspracklen.bsky.social explaining this fascinating @universityofleeds.bsky.social study showing that reintroducing wolves to the Scottish Highlands could help address the climate emergency 🐺
Read the full story 👇
bit.ly/4hFeNvM
Read the full story 👇
bit.ly/4hFeNvM
Reposted by Doug Parker
New: Understanding the barriers and knowledge gaps to climate-smart agriculture & climate information services: A multi-stakeholder analysis of smallholder farmers’ uptake in Ghana - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Understanding the barriers and knowledge gaps to climate-smart agriculture and climate information services: A multi-stakeholder analysis of smallholder farmers’ uptake in Ghana
The uptake of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) among Ghanaian smallholder farmers remains low despite their prom…
www.sciencedirect.com
February 15, 2025 at 10:48 AM
New: Understanding the barriers and knowledge gaps to climate-smart agriculture & climate information services: A multi-stakeholder analysis of smallholder farmers’ uptake in Ghana - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
ml-env-for.leeds.ac.uk/indabax-mada...
This hackathon organised in Madagascar by one of our students, Mendrika Rakotomanga, showed how AI is democratising weather prediction. 18 student participants were able to create an accurate AI based nowcasting system.
This hackathon organised in Madagascar by one of our students, Mendrika Rakotomanga, showed how AI is democratising weather prediction. 18 student participants were able to create an accurate AI based nowcasting system.
IndabaX Madagascar 2024 | Machine-learning for environmental prediction
ml-env-for.leeds.ac.uk
February 16, 2025 at 5:40 PM
ml-env-for.leeds.ac.uk/indabax-mada...
This hackathon organised in Madagascar by one of our students, Mendrika Rakotomanga, showed how AI is democratising weather prediction. 18 student participants were able to create an accurate AI based nowcasting system.
This hackathon organised in Madagascar by one of our students, Mendrika Rakotomanga, showed how AI is democratising weather prediction. 18 student participants were able to create an accurate AI based nowcasting system.
Reposted by Doug Parker
It is a great honour to take up the Tait Chair of Mathematical Physics at @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social. I will arrive in June 2025.
www.ph.ed.ac.uk/news/2025/ch...
www.ph.ed.ac.uk/news/2025/ch...
Championing Mathematical Physics in Edinburgh
Professor Steve Tobias appointed Tait Chair of Mathematical Physics.
www.ph.ed.ac.uk
February 4, 2025 at 8:39 AM
It is a great honour to take up the Tait Chair of Mathematical Physics at @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social. I will arrive in June 2025.
www.ph.ed.ac.uk/news/2025/ch...
www.ph.ed.ac.uk/news/2025/ch...