On March 19–20, 2026, the HClimRep group gathered in Hamburg for its third annual in-person meeting, hosted by the Hereon group at the International Maritime Museum. Partners from FZJ, AWI, KIT, and Hereon came together to review project progress, align future research directions, and strengthen collaboration across work packages. The meeting provided an important opportunity to assess current developments and define concrete decisions needed to guide the project through its next phase.

The first day focused on scientific and technical progress across core components of HClimRep. Updates covered advances in the stratospheric component led by KIT, progress in sub-seasonal and seasonal predictability by the FZJ group, the status of long-term rollout development presented by Hereon, and developments in the ocean component addressed by AWI members. Discussions also evaluated emerging competitors and clarified where the HClimRep AI–climate modelling approach provides distinctive advantages.

The second day shifted toward downstream applications, ongoing publications, and project infrastructure. These sessions aimed to ensure that technical developments translate efficiently into reproducible workflows and impactful scientific results. The meeting concluded with an open discussion on key challenges, future directions, and long-term ambitions.

The Hamburg meeting marked an important milestone in aligning scientific priorities, publications, and reinforcing collaboration as HClimRep moves toward its 2026-2027 goals.

 

Der Beitrag HClimRep annual in-person meeting 2026 held in Hamburg erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

On March 17–18, 2026, a small HClimRep Hackathon was held at the AWI partner’s offices in Bremerhaven. Five members of the HClimRep project – Ankit Patnala, Aleksei Koldunov, Jehangir Awan, Kacper Nowak, and Savvas Melidonis – gathered to work on climate‑forecasting and downscaling applications using tropospheric and oceanic data with the WeatherGenerator model.

The set‑up of the experiments progressed smoothly and was successful. In addition to the technical work, the team discussed the scientific agenda and publication strategy for the coming months, outlining the next steps in model development and planned outputs for the project.

 

Der Beitrag Internal Hackathon – AWI Bremerhaven erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

Cologne, 5th March, 2026

The HClimRep project was presented at the AlgoEarth & CESOC Workshop: Advancing AI Climate Models, held on 4–5 March 2026 at the University of Cologne. The workshop brought together international experts from research institutions, academia, and industry to discuss how artificial intelligence can move beyond short-term weather forecasting toward reliable climate modeling and long-term Earth system understanding. The event focused on key challenges in AI climate science, including limited observational data, complex feedback processes, and the need for new machine-learning architectures capable of representing coupled climate dynamics.

During the workshop, Dr. Savvas Melidonis (Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich) presented “HClimRep: A Foundation Model for Capturing the Atmosphere, Ocean, and Sea Ice Interactions.” He explained how the project aims to develop an AI foundation model that learns the long-term interactions between atmosphere, ocean, stratosphere, and sea ice, addressing limitations of conventional physics-based climate models such as computational cost, structural biases, and coarse resolution. Furthermore, he stated that, by combining deep learning with high-performance computing (HPC), HClimRep seeks to bridge the gap between AI-based weather prediction and AI-driven climate projection.

The workshop, organized within the Algorithmic Earth System Science and CESOC frameworks, emphasized interdisciplinary collaboration across machine learning, algorithm design, and Earth system science. HClimRep’s contribution highlighted the growing role of AI foundation models in climate research and their potential to provide new insights into the Earth system while supporting evidence-based climate adaptation and policy decisions.

 

Der Beitrag HClimRep Presented at AlgoEarth & CESOC Workshop on Advancing AI Climate Models erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

A major focus of the meeting was the WeatherGenerator prototype, which integrates atmosphere, ocean, and stratosphere into a single framework. While this prototype forms the backbone of the project, it also highlights key challenges. Achieving stable forecasts over longer timescales remains a central bottleneck, reflecting inherent limits of current modelling approaches. Despite challenges around computing resources and data infrastructure, the meeting highlighted steady progress. The team has created new datasets that allow improved coupling of atmospheric and oceanic processes. Initial tests incorporating stratospheric chemistry tracers have been conducted, and alternative modeling strategies – such as diffusion-based approaches – are being explored in parallel. Strengthened evaluation methods and closer collaboration between work packages are further supporting advancement.

Looking ahead, the consortium agreed to focus efforts on refining the WeatherGenerator prototype, targeting a stable release by 2026. Upcoming priorities include achieving monthly-to-seasonal rollouts across all compartments, integrating climate forcing, and developing downscaling applications that link large-scale climate models with regional impacts. These efforts aim to provide both scientifically robust insights and practical tools for understanding and preparing for climate variability and change.

Der Beitrag HClimRep Annual Meeting in Cologne, 01-02 September 2025 erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

The second HClimRep project meeting will take place at the premises of the Helmholtz Head Office in Berlin on Tuesday, November 26^th. We will review the current status of the ongoing HClimRep work packages and follow-up on our intense science discussions from the kickoff meeting in Cologne. On the day after the project meeting, a satellite meeting will be organized by the Synergy Unit of the Helmholtz Foundation Model Initiative, which will include final preparations for the Helmholtz Incubator workshop immediately afterwards. These will be excellent opportunities for networking and identifying synergies and potential collaborations among the HFMI pioneer projects.

Der Beitrag HClimRep project meeting 26. November 2024 erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

The HClimRep project members are organizing a 2-day hackathon event at the co-working space of “Die Wohngemeinschaft” in Cologne on November 20 to 21. The main objectives of the event are: 1.) Deepen knowledge about the Atmorep code and development for HClimRep project members who have already started to work with the code, 2.) Provide a general introduction to AtmoRep and train newcomers to obtain the code, data, and pretrained models and to run an AtmoRep application and training.
Twentyfive participants have registered and we are looking forward to two intense days of hacking and discussions.

 

Der Beitrag HClimRep hackathon on 20. to 21. November 2024 at Cologne erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

Der Beitrag Invited presentation at KAIST, Seoul, Korea erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

Der Beitrag Helmholtz Annual Assembly 17. September 2024 erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

Der Beitrag HClimRep presentation at HAICON erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.

Der Beitrag Invited presentation at RWTH Aachen erschien zuerst auf HClimRep.