UK to join EU ocean programme aimed at improving extreme-weather forecasts

The United Kingdom is to join OceanEye, a major ocean science programme led by the European Union, in an effort to improve forecasts of extreme weather and climate events. The environment secretary is expected to announce the cooperation in New York on Wednesday. OceanEye aims to create a real-time model of the world’s oceans, according to The Guardian.

The programme is being presented as a way to improve understanding and prediction of conditions that can contribute to severe weather. The announcement comes amid concern about this year’s “supersized” El Niño, which is being tracked in the Pacific Ocean and has been linked in the report to the prospect of more extreme weather globally. The decision also forms part of efforts by Andy Burnham’s government to rebuild Britain’s relationship with Europe.

The supplied material does not provide details about the UK’s financial contribution, its specific scientific role or when it will formally join the programme. It is also not clear from the available information how quickly OceanEye’s proposed model could affect forecasts. The initiative’s stated aim is to provide more timely information about the oceans, with the wider objective of supporting better predictions of extreme weather and climate events.