Seasonal-to-decadal climate forecasting

Abstract

Forecasting climate over the near-term, from a season to decades ahead, has the potential to inform decision-making within the energy sector in a number of ways: From energy trading to scheduling maintenance and resource management. Recent advances in forecasting at these timescales have led to promising levels of skill in predicting the large-scale drivers of seasonal and multi-annual climate variability as well as the consequent local climate impacts of relevance for the energy sector (e.g. seasonal temperatures and wind speeds). This chapter discusses the unique aspects of near-term prediction, how it differs from the task of weather prediction and long-term climate projections, the sources of predictability on these timescales, as well as some of the current climate forecasting tools and products aiming to provide value to the energy sector.