University climate scientist gets OBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours
20 October 2020
A climate scientist who is among a number of Met Office scientists hosted by the University of Reading has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2020 list.
Professor Jason Lowe, Head of Climate Services at the Met Office and one of around 25 scientists in the MetOffice@Reading group was recognised for services to climate science.
Professor Lowe’s work has helped the UK and other countries plan for and respond to the impacts of climate change, directly shaping national and international policy and informing vital decisions to protect businesses and communities.
Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Reading, said: “The University of Reading hosts some of the world’s leading experts in climate science, providing the knowledge decision-makers need to make the world more resilient to the effects of climate change.
“I am proud to see the work of Professor Lowe recognised in such an esteemed way. Thanks to the work of him and other scientists, the UK and other countries will be far better prepared to deal with future challenges under climate change.”
Professor Lowe has pioneered a more collaborative approach to climate research, bringing together climate science with other academic disciplines, such as economics and social sciences, and emphasising working directly with end-users, from private enterprise to local government.
He has contributed to improving our understanding of climate science, including driving the creation of the UK’s latest climate projections (UKCP18), providing the UK government and policy makers with detailed projections of how the climate will change over the next century.
Professor Lowe led the multinational ‘Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change’ programme from 2009, the first in the world to use a collaborative approach between academia and government which has been highly influential in both UK and international policy. This programme was also highly central in the global decision that temperatures should not rise more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
Professor Lowe is also Chair in Interdisciplinary Climate Science at the Priestley Centre, University of Leeds.
The Met Office has had staff at the University of Reading for about 30 years. MetOffice@Reading scientists collaborate extensively with University researchers at Reading and elsewhere.
Major projects that they have collaborated on include DIAMET (Diabatic Influences on Mesoscale Structures in Extratropical Storms), DYMECS (Dynamical and Microphysical Evolution of Convective Storms), and FFIR (Flooding from Intense Rainfall).
The University of Reading is also part of the Met Office Academic Partnership which is a formal grouping of four UK universities with which the Met Office has particularly strong collaborative links.