Darmstadt/Constance: How can cities make rapid, informed decisions about climate change on the basis of accurate data and with beneficial outcomes in actual practice? The European research project FOCAL (Efficient Exploration of Climate Data Locally) shows how highly complex climate data can be translated into specific digital tools for use at local level. This week, project participants from research and municipal practice are meeting in Constance to work on the further development of the planned solutions. The event exemplifies the user-centered nature of the project.

 

Making climate data usable at local level

Funded by the European Union, the consortium of 14 partners is developing a digital ecosystem that combines high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and smart workflow management. The aim is to process extensive climate, environmental and Earth observation data in such a way that it can be used by city and regional planners to come up with measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.

 

Two pilot applications are at the heart of the project:

In Constance, various municipal departments – such as urban development, planning and the environment – are currently working on digital solutions for local climate adaptation. This mainly involves identifying urban heat islands and designing climate-resilient infrastructure. An additional use case for forestry will be worked on later by other members of the project team together with the Czech Forest Institute. The goal is to develop data-based tools for silvicultural adaptation strategies.

 

Scientific excellence from Germany

Three German research institutions are responsible for central parts of the project:

Fraunhofer IGD in Darmstadt is coordinating the project consortium and developing an infrastructure for the efficient processing of large climate and Earth observation data with the aid of Steep, a cloud-based workflow solution. Steep allows complex data streams to be processed automatically and made available in a form that is precisely tailored to municipal decision-making practices. This is supplemented by expertise in AI-supported geodata analysis. Dr. Eva Klien, department head and project coordinator at Fraunhofer IGD: “FOCAL shows how scientific climate data can be directly translated into municipal processes using modern technologies. The pilot project in Constance clearly demonstrates how close collaboration between researchers and city administrators can produce innovative solutions for climate adaptation.”

GERICS at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (Helmholtz Center Hereon) is leading the FOCAL city pilot and contributing its experience in regional climate modeling. The aim is to break down large-scale models to city level and combine them with local environmental and socioeconomic data.

The contribution to the project made by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology is its expertise in global climate modeling and the analysis of complex feedbacks in the Earth system – an essential building block for the integration of scientifically sound data.

 

Constance: Playing an active rather than a passive role

The city of Constance is an active project partner, contributing its local expertise directly to the development of the digital tools. The aim is to make locally calculated climate information effectively usable for urban planning and decision-making processes.

“We as a city will benefit enormously from direct access to localized climate information,” says Tim Tewes, project manager in the field of climate-resilient cities at Constance municipal authority. “FOCAL helps us to plan more sustainably and implement our climate adaptation measures more effectively.”

 

Digital tools for a resilient future

FOCAL is creating a practical, digital toolbox for climate adaptation at local level. The combination of technological progress, scientific excellence, and municipal know-how makes the project a pioneering example of how data can be used effectively at the very locations where the consequences of climate change are actually felt – on the ground in cities, regions, and forests.