From left: ADPC Executive Director Dr. Suvit Yodman, Dr. Michael Glantz and AIT President Prof Jean-Louis Armand
Internationally acclaimed scientist
Dr. Michael Glantz speaks on climate-society interactions at AIT
Dr. Michael Glantz, senior scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, delivered a Special Lecture to a filled-to-capacity audience at the Milton Bender Jr. Auditorium. In his talk entitled 'Preparing for El Nino: A Climate Affairs Challenge', he spoke candidly about what we do and do not know about climate anomalies and the El Nino Southern Oscillation. For some countries, Glantz contends, the association between climate anomalies and El Nino is already demonstrated with enough reliability to guide decision-making. At the same time, the public, policy makers and educators need to know more about the various ways that forecasts can be used in the sustainable development of society and economy. In addition to forecasting climate, it is critical that we develop forecasts of the societal impacts of El Nino and effectively communicate these impact outlooks to vulnerable communities.
Glantz (above) strongly believes that national scientific establishments need the support of their governments as well as international donor agencies to undertake studies on regional and local problems related to El Nino. Moreover, educators at all levels should encourage their students to study the interactions among climate, society and the environment. At the university level, Glantz suggests, such studies might be supported through the development of a Climate Affairs Program.
Dr. Glantz's lecture was part of the Asian Climate Training (ACT) Worskshop organized by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and the Thai Meteorological Department in partnership with national, regional and international institutions. The Special Lecture at AIT was hosted jointly by AIT and ADPC and was presided over by the AIT President Prof. Jean-Louis Armand and the ADPC Executive Director Dr. Suvit Yodmani.
The slide show of Dr. Glantz's presentation, links to further information on his climate studies and a description of the ACT workshop may be found on line at http://www.adpc.ait.ac.th/ece/ece.html