Open Call for Self-Nomination for the Membership of the Global Extremes Platform (GEP) Working Group on Annual assessment of Weather and Climate Extremes (AWCE)
GEP overview
The Global Extremes Platform (GEP, https://gep.wcrp-rifs.org) builds upon and integrates activities on weather and climate extremes across the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). It is designed to contribute to improving the delivery of science, information, and data concerning extremes.
GEP centers on three main themes:
- Extreme Indices
- Event Attribution
- Assessment of Weather and Climate Extremes
Working Group on Annual assessment of Weather and Climate Extremes (AWCE)
In view of the current state-of-the-art, there is a need for a new type of policy-relevant retrospective scientific syntheses on the state of weather and climate extremes and their attribution and with a comprehensive global focus, better encompassing the Global South than existing literature and reports. Such an initiative would provide timely update on the attribution of events and extreme conditions across the world, building on IPCC-assessed methodologies and new scientific literature, under the aegis of WCRP.
WCRP has the mandate to coordinate and facilitate international climate research to develop, share, and apply climate knowledge that contributes to societal well-being. Societal demands for comprehensive assessment of the state of weather and climate extremes and their attribution that are both global and timely make it essential for WCRP to establish a Working Group on Annual assessment of Weather and Climate Extremes (AWCE) under GEP. The Working Group would consist of international experts with relevant expertise in the field and prepare yearly reports to be delivered in May of each year, with a retrospective analysis of events of the past year. Extensive cooperation is planned between this Working Group as well as the GEP Working Group on Event Attribution, other WCRP initiatives, WMO, and other relevant organizations active in the field. It is anticipated that the yearly AWCE reports will also inform the upcoming IPCC AR7 assessment.
Membership of the Working Group will be selected from the community through this open call for self-nomination and will seek a suitably diverse representation. The Terms of Reference of the Working Group will be developed in consultation with the community through a two-step process: drafted through discussions with community volunteers and then refined and finalized by the membership of the Working Group.
How to apply
Apply by August 5th, 2025 by sending your application document including a 1-page CV and a half-page motivation statement as a single PDF file to the GEP Support Unit (GEP-SU@nuist.edu.cn). For background questions, please contact GEP co-chairs (Xuebin Zhang, U. Victoria, Canada: xuebinzhang23@uvic.ca; Sonia I. Seneviratne, ETH Zurich, Switzerland: sonia.seneviratne@ethz.ch).
Please name the PDF file as: “AWCE_Membership_Application_[Name].pdf”.
Remuneration
These are voluntary, unpaid roles.
Term
The initial term length is 3 years.
Diversity and Inclusion
We welcome applications from individuals who can provide expertise in Annual assessment of Weather and Climate Extremes or can provide a bridge to relevant or related disciplines including, but not limited to, statistical methods, social sciences, capacity building, or climate impacts research. Both scientific expertise and regional representation will be priorities, with the expectation that selected members will act as conduits for event attribution efforts in their region. Early career researchers (ECRs), women, gender-diverse individuals, and representatives from emerging economies are particularly encouraged to apply.