Climate Data and Weather Observations: From Data to Decision-Making

Join us for an evening exploring how climate and weather data are transformed into useful information for decision-making. Two local speakers will share their work on climate data systems in British Columbia.

From Climate Data to Climate Indicator–Based Risk Assessment

Jonathan Doyle

While high-quality climate data is now widely available, turning massive datasets into locally relevant climate indicators remains a challenge. Jonathan will demonstrate how Python tools like xclim, xarray, and Dask are used to process terabytes of climate projections and calculate meaningful indicators for specific regions.

The talk features a demonstration of the Localized Climate Analysis and Projection (LCAP) system, developed in partnership with Selkirk Innovates. This web tool helps communities assess climate-related risks to infrastructure and make informed adaptation decisions.

Weather to Run: Turning weather and climate observations into usable data

James Heibert

BC’s dramatic climate variation—from coastal rainforests to glaciated mountains—makes weather monitoring both critical and challenging. James will describe how the province uses Python and open-source tools to build and maintain BC’s Provincial Climate Data Set (PCDS), which collects real-time observations from weather stations across the province.

Using a relatable example—calculating the percentage of “runnable days” per year based on temperature and precipitation—James will show how good data infrastructure enables meaningful climate analysis across different regions and time periods.