HYDERABAD: Climate scientists can now predict the climate of the next 10 years with the help of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) Climate, an irregular oscillation of sea surface temperatures that predicts the temperature, found a study carried out by the University of Hyderabad (UoH) in collaboration with the University of Exeter.
This study has wide-ranging benefits for climate science and society. The newly emerging field of decadal prediction is about forecasting the climate for the next 5-20 years, helping stakeholders in decision making and strategising.
The research was carried out by Prof. K. Ashok, his PhD student Feba Francis and Prof. Satish Shetye, a former Chair Professor of Centre for Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Hyderabad. The UoH team collaborated with Prof. Mat Collins of the University of Exeter.
The authors find that Indian Ocean Dipole has a longer prediction skill on a multi-year scale. They find that two models from Japan and Canada, which show significant prediction skills for up to 10 years, with strongest leads up to two years.