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Climate Variability, Change and Society

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Year 2

The topics covered in this course include an overview of the principal components of the climate system as well as aspects of the science of climate change, the mechanisms of climatic variability, climate oscillations and teleconnections. Moreover, interactions between climate and society from the individual to societal level are discussed. This includes the question of problem climates and how climate is perceived, the impacts of climatic variability, the characterisation of extreme climate events, and climate impact assessment. Further topics include climate change and policy, adaptation to a changing climate, climate risk management, and seasonal climate forecasting.

Objectives and learning outcomes of the course

At the completion of the module, students should be able to demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the relationship between climate and society; have knowledge of climate oscillations and teleconnections as well as the mechanisms underlying climatic variability; the knowledge required to undertake a basic climate impact assessment; an understanding of the nature of direct and indirect impacts of climate on society and the the science of climate change and how climate climate change impact assessments are conducted; a conceptual knowledge of climate risk and its assessment; the ability to describe how climate knowledge can be applied to the problem of sustainable development