Friederike Otto | Lightnews

Prof Friederike Otto

@frediotto.bsky.social

🇬🇧 🇪🇺 physicist, philosopher, lead https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/, author of Climate InJustice https://greystonebooks.com/collections/current-affairs-politics/products/climate-injustice, she/her

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Friederike (Fredi) Elly Luise Otto is a climatologist who as of December 2021 works as a Senior Lecturer at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London. She is an Honorary Research Associate of the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on answering the question whether and to what extent extreme weather conditions change as a result of external climate drivers. A highly recognised expert in the field of attribution research, she examines the extent to which human-caused climate change as well as vulnerability and exposure are responsible for events such heat waves, droughts and floods. Together with climate scientist Geert Jan van Oldenborgh she founded the international project World Weather Attribution which she still leads. In 2021, she was included in the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She was also one of ten scientists who had had important roles in scientific developments in 2021 highlighted in the scientific journal Nature. .. more

Environmental science 54%

Geography 16%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Du Toit, Wim Thiery

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · 4d

If we do not seriously move away from burning fossil fuels, hurricanes like Melissa will only become worse. Already today Melissa tested the limits of what preparedness and adaptation can do. These limits are very real for everyone in the Caribbean. www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-chan...

The wettest 5-day period in each location between 19-29 October 2025, which is related to the passage of Melissa. The track of Hurricane Melissa at 12 hour intervals is shown as a series of pink points. Data from MSWX

Reposted by Friederike Otto

Annika Brockschmidt @ardenthistorian.bsky.social · 21d

Vorschieben, Frauen & Mädchen schützen zu wollen, als würde sexualisierte Gewalt vor allem von Migranten ausgehen, ist so hanebüchen wie perfide. Es ist rassistisch und misogyn zugleich - und eine klassische Erzählung von Rechtsextremen, die im Übrigen nicht auf "Schutz", sondern Besitzanspruch fußt

Reposted by Friederike Otto

Roland Pease @peaseroland.bsky.social · 24d

The sharp rise in hot days since the 2015 Paris climate accord, + alarming future risks lead Science in Action this week with @wwattribution.bsky.social's @frediotto.bsky.social.
Also the Int'l Drought Expt's Mendy Smith on devastating multiyear droughts on grasslands.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Paris agreement impacts and drought realities

10 years on from the Paris climate agreement, has it helped at all?

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Du Toit, Anthony Burke , and 1 more Peter Thorne, Du Toit, Anthony Burke, Christian Hof

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · 25d

The Paris Agreement offers a powerful framework for a fairer, healthier world. But as extreme heat shows, every tenth of a degree matters. We need higher ambition to stop violating the rights of ever more people. - new @wwattribution.bsky.social study
www.worldweatherattribution.org/ten-years-of...

frequency of extreme heat in Mali & Burkina Faso under different warming scenarios

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Oct 2

Very exciting “job” I’ll have over the coming months. Can’t wait to see how & where this dearly needed field of fiction is moving. 📕📗⚖️🔥

climate-fiction.bsky.social @climate-fiction.bsky.social · Oct 2

2026 Climate Fiction Prize Announce Stellar Judging Panel as Submissions Open!

📚 @arifa.bsky.social
📚 Jessie Greengrass
📚 @kitdewaal.com
📚 @frediotto.bsky.social
📚 @savidgereads.bsky.social

Publishers have until 13th November to submit novels published between 1 Sept 2024 – 31 Aug 2025.

Reposted by Friederike Otto

climate-fiction.bsky.social @climate-fiction.bsky.social · Oct 2

Reposted by Friederike Otto, Gavin L. Foster

Gaia Vince @wanderinggaia.bsky.social · Sep 29

Terrible headline on a good article. It’s the world’s taste for MEAT that’s fuelling Amazon destruction. The soya is cattle feed.

How the world’s taste for soya is eating Brazil’s Amazon

Cultivation of the crop has made a few wealthy but at a huge cost to untouched forest as it spreads across vast areas of former wilderness

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Du Toit

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Sep 26

Planetary boundaries sound very abstract & high level, this year, for the first time @eraju.bsky.social & I contributed a chapter how breaching these boundaries has affected people around the world: losing lives, livelihoods, health… & for whom the limits of adaptation have been reached.

PIK_climate @pik-potsdam.bsky.social · Sep 24

Seven of nine planetary boundaries now breached – ocean acidification joins the danger zone," says PIK director Johan Rockström presenting the key findings of the Planetary Health Check 2025 today. #PlanetaryBoundaries
➡️ www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late...

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Sep 25

I was wrong! @eraju.bsky.social is here!

Reposted by Friederike Otto, Rob Marchant, Du Toit , and 4 more Friederike Otto, Rob Marchant, Du Toit, Thomas Backhaus, Paul Lehmann, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Fiona Armstrong

PIK_climate @pik-potsdam.bsky.social · Sep 24

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Sep 23

After almost a decadal hiatus, back at KMD in Nairobi, running a @wwattribution.bsky.social workshop with three superstars: @clairbarnes.bsky.social, Joyce Kimutai & Emmanuel Raju (who somehow didn't make it to blue sky yet).

Reposted by Helmut Haberl, Wim Thiery, Christian Hof

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Sep 17

The summer is over - and for about 16,600 people across 854 European cities that doesn't mean autumn comes, but death. People who would still be alive if it wasn't for our burning of fossil fuels. - New study with @lshtm.bsky.social www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/pub...

Reposted by Friederike Otto, Kristie L. Ebi

Rupert Stuart-Smith @rupertstuartsmith.bsky.social · Sep 10

Out now: our new study shows that climate change caused nearly 1,700 heat-related deaths in Zürich over 50 years.

We assessed the effects of changing vulnerability to heat, heat-mortality within and outside of heatwaves, and the contribution of individual companies' emissions to heat deaths.

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Du Toit, Paul Lehmann

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Sep 4

Heat & very dry air that used to be rare, now very common in Spain & Portugal, putting huge strain on EU firefighting resources - at 1.3C global warming. Every additional ton of fossil fuels burnt will make European summers even more deadly & dangerous www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-fire...

a graph of high temperatures, daily severity rating and radiative power, showing how heat and DSR built up before fires broke out

Reposted by Friederike Otto, Mariana Madruga de Brito

Johannes Quaas @jquaas.bsky.social · Sep 4

Hosted by @meteoleipzig.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @tropos-de.bsky.social , ECO-N research training group funded by @dfg.de
Great lectures by @sebastian-sippel.bsky.social @frediotto.bsky.social @mdebrito.bsky.social @zscheischlerjak.bsky.social and more!

Reposted by Friederike Otto

Johannes Quaas @jquaas.bsky.social · Sep 4

The current Advanced Training Module on "Climate Attribution", joinly by our interdisciplinary research training group "Economics of Connected Natural Commons" and the Leipzig Graduate school on Clouds, aerosols and radiation sparked large interest: 65 PhD researchers from 7 countries!

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Aug 28

Innocent! Eating kale.

Reposted by Garry Peterson, Du Toit

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Aug 28

One of the strongest, clearest increases in likelihood & intensity, attributable to climate change, I've seen in a complex index like fire weather - the more intense & frequent events in Greece & Türkiye are already outpacing efforts to adapt.
www.worldweatherattribution.org/weather-cond...

map of the Aegean coast depicting change in vapour pressure deficit due to climate change

Reposted by Friederike Otto

Leo Barasi @leobarasi.bsky.social · Aug 27

One of the best climate science comms jobs around, helping journalists explain how climate change has influenced extreme weather events, working with a top bunch of scientists at @wwattribution.bsky.social including @frediotto.bsky.social. London based, closes 5 Sep

Media Relations Manager (World Weather Attribution and Grantham Institute) at Imperial College London

Explore professional services job openings, including the Media Relations Manager (World Weather Attribution and Grantham Institute) position, on jobs.ac.uk. Apply today and discover more about this r...

www.jobs.ac.uk

Reposted by Peter Thorne

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Aug 22

Do you want to be part of our amazing team @wwattribution.bsky.social team? If you are a science/comms expert, you can! Please do consider applying - www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Jussi T. Eronen

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Aug 14

In July Fennoscandia was hit by a heatwave similar to one that hit the region in 2018. In just seven years, similar events have become almost twice as likely due to increased global temperatures from 1.1 to 1.3°C.

Every fraction of a degree matters! www.worldweatherattribution.org/intense-two-...

Sunset over the sea with a big rock in the sea, distorting the light reflecting from the setting sun

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Aug 7

Heavy, deadly monsoon rainfall in Pakistan has become more intense with climate change - about 15%, but it could be as high as 40 - 80%: www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-chan...

population density over the study region

Reposted by Friederike Otto, Peter Thorne

RTÉ Brainstorm @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social · Aug 6

Are hot Irish days worsening due to climate change? A climate attribution study has examined if last month's mini-heatwave can be linked to human-influenced climate change. Analysis by @clairebergin.bsky.social & @peterthorne.bsky.social @maynoothuniversity.ie www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...

Are hot Irish days worsening due to climate change?

A climate attribution study has found that last month's mini-heatwave can be linked to human-influenced climate change

www.rte.ie

Reposted by Friederike Otto, Danny Dorling

Simon Pirani @simonpirani.bsky.social · Aug 6

Thanks @theecologist.org for publishing my review of Climate Injustice by @frediotto.bsky.social. It's a great contribution to desperately-needed dialogue between climate scientists and social movements. theecologist.org/2025/aug/06/...

Climate breakdown 'an injustice multiplier'

Simon Pirani reviews 'Climate Injustice: Why We Need to Fight Global Inequality to Combat Climate Change', by Friederike Otto (Greystone Books, 2025)

theecologist.org

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Danny Dorling

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Aug 5

My book - ClimateINJustice is shortlisted for the @wainwrightprize.bsky.social ! Really happy about this, as it's not traditional conservation writing - but conserving & fighting for us humans & our rights wainwrightprize.com/shortlist-20...

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Jul 25

@dralaaclimate.bsky.social‬ & I were part of a small team of scientists talking to the judges as part of the process. To see how much emphasis on the science is in this AO highlights how much we know & that there is really no justification to hide behind uncertainty instead of act.

Reposted by Friederike Otto, Glen P. Peters, Christopher Millett , and 3 more Friederike Otto, Glen P. Peters, Christopher Millett, Garry Peterson, Markus W. Gehring, Béatrice Cointe

Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment @granthamicl.bsky.social · Jul 25

🌍📜 Licensing and subsidising fossil fuels can now "constitute internationally wrongful acts,” write Dr @frediotto.bsky.social and ‪Dr Alaa Al Khourdajie.

Read their commentary on why The ICJ's new advisory marks a turning point for climate accountability: ow.ly/7aix50WvkuM

The ICJ’s climate ruling goes far beyond legal battles between small states and big polluters

Written by Professor Friederike Otto, Professor in Climate Science at the Centre for Environmental Policy and Dr Alaa Al Khourdajie, Research Fellow at Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London. O...

ow.ly

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Jul 24

yes! The causality is clear, from GHG to extreme weather!

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Wim Thiery

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · Jul 23

Advisory opinion from ICJ is big (in more then 1 sense), but this summaries a lot:"The Court is of the view that a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a precondition for the enjoyment of many human rights, such as the right to life, the right to health ..." www.icj-cij.org/sites/defaul...

peace palace in the Hague in November in the dark

Reposted by Friederike Otto, Béatrice Cointe

Alaa Al Khourdajie @dralaaclimate.bsky.social · Jul 23

Three key takeaways:
- Fossil fuel subsidies and licensing can now constitute internationally wrongful acts
- The 1.5°C limit is no longer aspirational - it's a legal obligation
- States cannot hide behind "concurrent causes" to avoid climate reparations

2/5

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