WEATHER

Weather Extremes: Assessment of impacts on Transport Systems and Hazards for European Regions

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The WEATHER project aims at adding to the current state of knowledge on the impacts of extreme weather events on economy and society in total and on European transport systems in particular. The project starts from the broad picture of climate scenarios and breaks them down to specific regions. Economic growth models are applied to study the impacts on economy and society and the inter-relations between transport and other sectors. The vulnerability of transport is assessed mode by mode including infrastructures, operations and intermodal issues. Best practices in emergency management are identified by studying the numerous damage cases world wide and options for adapting to more frequent and / or more extreme weather events are assessed. A particular focal point of the project is to quantify expected damage, emergency and adaptation costs and the benefits of improved emergency management and adaptation. Moreover, the project will identify policy options to implement the recommended measures and demonstrate the competitive potential and the innovation power of a European lead market for adaptation and emergency management technologies and policies. The toolbox of the project consists of literature review, targeted interviews, workshops, cost accounting models and case studies. The project will last for 27 months. The team consists of 8 leading transportation research institutes all having well founded experience in the core research fields of the WEATHER project.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

By extrapolating weather effects on transport systems over the next few decades and outlining strategies to combat extreme weather hazards, Europe will be better prepared to manage related emergency situations.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Extreme weather phenomena can literally stop trains in their tracks, hamper road networks and close down airports. The EU-funded project 'Weather extremes: Assessment of impacts on transport systems and hazards for European regions' (Weather) investigated the socioeconomic impact of severe weather events.

The project studied climate scenarios per region, examining the effects of serious weather events on transport modes and infrastructures. It also studied cases of damage in the past to identify best practices in managing emergencies and estimating damage costs to the sector.

To illustrate, the project team used northern Italy as one of its pilot areas in order to estimate disruptions caused by projected temperature and precipitation changes. It identified 300 adaptation strategies through workshops, literature reviews and expert interviews related to different infrastructures and modes of transport. The Weather project then identified policy options to implement remediation measures and improve emergency management in Europe.

This was achieved by conducting a comprehensive literature review to outline the different adaptation strategies, taking into consideration current adaptation policy frameworks that focus on risk-based approaches. Many innovative strategies to deal with extreme weather phenomena have been documented.

Through two workshops held in the Netherlands and in the United States, as well as a final conference held in Greece, the project team disseminated these valuable results to stakeholders. Europe's ability to manage emergencies in severe weather across the continent and alleviate socioeconomic pressure on its citizens stands to benefit tremendously from this initiative.