The aim of the Climate CH2025 project is to develop, update and provide the physical basis of climate change in Switzerland. The information links the past development from observations with the expected changes from climate scenarios. The focus is on the changes of climate extremes as well as their processes.
| Project start | 01.01.2023 |
|---|---|
| Project end | 31.12.2025 |
| Region | National |
| Status | Current projects |
National climate scenarios are an important basis for the public and private sectors to plan and design adaptation and mitigation measures. Regional or local assessments of future climate change are therefore an important climate service.
In 2018, the current edition of the Swiss climate scenarios CH2018 was published. These scenarios show that a further increase in mean temperatures is expected as climate change progresses. The impacts of climate change in Switzerland can be summarized in four key statements: higher incidences of heat extremes, more precipitation extremes, drier summers, and snow scarce winters. The extent of these changes depends strongly on the assumed future development of greenhouse gas emissions.
Since the CH2018 scenarios were published, both the science and the needs of users have evolved. New science, as documented in the recent IPCC report (AR6), has been published, and new high-resolution and convection-permitting climate models have been developed. Thanks to the continuous involvement of users in the design of the scenarios, MeteoSwiss and ETH were able to gain a detailed picture of the requirements for future climate and climate change information.
The Climate CH2025 project, launched in March 2023, addresses identified gaps in existing climate scenarios and additional requirements. Like previous generations of climate scenarios, the current project is a collaboration between MeteoSwiss, ETH Zurich, and other partners from science and government. The results of Climate CH2025 will build on the existing CH2018 scenarios and extend them with new scientific knowledge and products.
Two main scientific issues will be in focus: