Climate research and development
Rossby Centre is involved in national and international projects on climate modelling and research, and on the application of climate information for decision-making for adaptation as well as for measures that limit climate effects.
The research at Rossby Centre aims to increase knowledge about the future climate with a focus on societal benefits. It includes climatological, meteorological, oceanographic and hydrological aspects. The work includes a chain of activities with model development, climate simulations and evaluation of data for climate studies and climate services at SMHI, in Sweden and in Europe, climate information, as well as application of model data for impact and adaptation studies. Rossby Centre participates in national and international projects in climate modelling, climate research and the application of climate information.
Facts and knowledge from our research are used in decisions on measures to limit climate-change emissions to reduce negative climate effects and consequences for society and the natural environment, and to plan and adapt society to a new, changed climate in due time.
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Within the Rossby Centre there are five strategically important research areas that cover signicifant aspects of climate research:
Precilience
Precilience is a Horizon Europe project developing climate adaptation solutions for the agriculture and forestry sectors in the boreal regions of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden.Exploring the transformative potential of climate services
In the research project “Exploring the Transformative Potential of Climate Services,” SMHI researchers will collaborate with a group of researchers from Tema M - Environmental Change and Media and Information Technology at Linköping University to address the future of climate services.SEACLIM
SEACLIM (European SEAs CLIMate impact prediction through regional models) aim to forecast the future of our regional seas, with decadal predictions and long-term climate projections.AI4PEX
AI4PEX, Artificial Intelligence for enhanced representation of processes and extremes in Earth System Models, is a research project that will deliver enhanced knowledge on the Earth system by integrating Earth observations, artificial intelligence, and machine learning into Earth system modelling and analysis.TipESM
TipESM brings together scientists from a range of disciplines to deliver a step change in our understanding of climate tipping points in the Earth system, including their impact on ecosystems and society, combined with a set of early warning indicators and safe future emission pathways that minimise the risk of exceedi...
Rossby Centre develops three-dimensional numerical models of the climate system. The models are based on mathematical descriptions of the physical interaction between processes in the climate system, and describes the interplay between atmosphere, sea, land and ice. The climate models are verified against observations of the climate up to today. The researchers also calculate how robust and reliable the results are with different assumptions about future greenhouse gas emissions, in order to increase the usefulness of the results.
Climate scenarios are produced with both global and regional climate models and are differently detailed at global, regional and local level. The climate scenarios can be used as a basis for society beneficial decisions and for further research.
The current regional climate model at Rossby Centre is HARMONIE-Climate, HCLIM, which is used for detailed climate scenarios. These include extreme events much more realistic than was possible in previous models. HCLIM will be expanded with coupled versions with ocean models and vegetation processes. The regional atmospheric model RCA is about to be phased out.
Rossby Centre has developed a global climate model EC-Earth3, which is used for international projects on global warming. Data and results from EC-Earth3 are included in the research that forms the basis for the conclusions presented in the latest report from the UN Climate Panel IPCC AR6. A new global climate system model, EC-EARTH4, is being developed in collaboration with a consortium of European weather services and universities and the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts.
Rossby Centre thus delivers climate knowledge, data and information as a scientific basis for decisions. This is done in collaboration with other groups within SMHI and in national and international projects.
Contact us at the Rossby Centre
The unit is led by Helena Martins, together with Ralf Döscher and Torben Koenigk.
Rossby Centre arranges the Swedish Climate Symposium
We publish our research in international peer-reviewed journals and in SMHI reports. The two most recent publications are shown below.
GCM Selection and Ensemble Design
Stefan Sobolowski, Samuel Somot, Jesus Fernandez, Guillaume Evin, Swen Brands, Douglas Maraun, Sven Kotlarski, Martin Jury, Rasmus E. Benestad, Claas Teichmann, Ole B. Christensen, Erasmo Buonomo, Eleni Katragkou, Christian Steger, Silje Sorland, Grigory Nikulin, Carol McSweeney, Andreas Dobler, Tamzin Palmer, Renate Wilcke, Julien Boe, Lukas Brunner, Aurelien Ribes, Said Qasmi, Pierre Nabat, Florence Sevault, Thomas Oudar
In: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS), Vol. 106, No. 9
2025
The Arctic Ocean Double Estuary
Nikki Brown, Alberto C. Naveira Garabato, Sheldon Bacon, Yevgeny Aksenov, Takamasa Tsubouchi, Mattias Green, Ben Lincoln, Tom Rippeth, Daniel L. Feltham
Time to submit contributions to the Swedish Climate Symposium 2026
For the third time, SMHI is co-organizing The Swedish Climate Symposium. The symposium is an opportunity for researchers, policymakers, and societal stakeholders to meet and learn about the latest Swedish climate research. The next symposium will take place in Lund in May 2026, and those who are interested can already ...
Together in Cape Town for Better and More Actionable Climate Information for Africa
How can climate information become more useful for decision-making and climate adaptation in Africa? This was the central question when around 70 researchers, experts and societal actors from across the continent gathered in Cape Town earlier this autumn. Over four intensive days, participants discussed everything from...
New Deep Learning Method Brings Europe’s Climate into Sharper Focus
Researchers from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), have developed a new method that uses Deep Learning to generate very high-resolution climate data across Europe. The results are presented in the recently published scientific article “Pan-European High-Resolution Downscaling Using Deep Lear...