CSAG

Chris Lennard

Research Staff

Although now a climatologist, I am a lapsed zoologist who has also dabbled in the dark art of oceanography. As such I hold an undergraduate degrees in Zoology and Oceanography, and post graduate degrees in Ocean and Atmospheric Science (B.Sc. Hons), Zoology (M.Sc.) and Climatology (Ph.D.). As a zoologist I was interested in the historic causes of historic avian extinction (introduced predators) and how these have changed over time with respect to the current most threatened species (habitat loss). My Ph.D. tested the ability of a regional climate model (MM5) to capture extreme rainfall events over Cape Town, South Africa.

Currently projects and responsibilities I have within CSAG include:

  • The development of a Wind Atlas for South Africa for the assessment of renewable energy resources in South Africa. The latest WASA3 time series data and reports are available with more information available (here). The fourth Phase of WASA will begin in 2024 and in addition to updating the wind atlas, will produce a solar atlas and investigate the impacts of climate change on the wind and solar energy resource in southern Africa.
  • I am PI on the Degrees Modelling Fund (DMF) project that is investigating the potential impacts of stratospheric climate intervention on the southern African and African climate. I am also a collaborating with scientist on 3 other DMF projects in Africa. Additionally, I am part of an initiative to build a community of African SRM researchers to inform the African voice in the global SRM discourse that is currently dominated by the global north.
  • I am Co-PI on the Wellcome Trust funded Health:RADAR project (Responsible Access to Data for Analysis and Research), a collaboration between the Modelling and Simulation Hub, Africa (MASHA) and CSAG to co-develop an open-source web-based platform in which data is collated, curated and transformed to catalyse Climate Sensitive Infectious Disease (CSID) modelling.
  • I am Co-I on the Wellcome Trust funded Climate-focused Analytics and Modelling for Mosquito-borne Infections in Southern Africa (CAMMISA) project that seeks to conduct collaborative analytical research to advance understanding of the direct and indirect impact of climate variability and change on the transmission and control of Mosquito-borne diseases in Southern Africa, with an aim to optimising intervention.
  • I have developed online lecture modules in the Blended Training Programme for the Africa Climate Resilient Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) that address many aspects of climate change and resilience.
  • I lecture into climate related courses at UCT and the CSAG Winterschool.
  • Student supervision at the Post-graduate and Post-Doctoral levels.
  • I serve on the CSAG Strategic Oversight Committee

Internationally I have several responsibilities within the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)

  • I am a co-chair of the WCRP Academy whose goal is to build capacity for climate research through training of current and future climate scientists, particularly those in the global south. (Please register your training course on our catalogue).
  • Through the Co-Ordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX ) I established the CORDEX-Africa Analysis Initiative; the development of the CORDEX Impacts Atlas for Africa; served a term on the CORDEX Scientific Advisory Team and am currently a Point of Contact for Africa. One of my current Cordex responsibilities includes the engagement of users of climate information which I find particularly satisfying. I also served a 5-year term on the CORDEX Scientific Advisory Team.
  • I serve on the scientific steering group of ScenarioMIP.
  • I serve on the steering committee of the WCRP Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP), one of the 23 WCRP-endorsed CMIP6 model intercomparison projects and the WCRP Climate Intervention Lighthouse
  • I serve on the WCRP Vulnerability, Impacts, Adaptation and Climate Services (VIACS) Advisory Board (VIACS) for CMIP6 whose role is to improve communications between communities that apply climate model output for societal benefit and the climate modelling centers.
  • I served on the interim scientific steering group of the Global Precipitation Experiment (GPEX).

For the IPCC 6th Assessment Cycle I was a lead author in the IPCC AR6 WGII Africa chapter (Chapter 9) and was a lead author in Chapter 2 of the IPCC Special Report on Land and Climate. In the IPCC 5th Assessment cycle I was a Lead Author in the WGII Africa Chapter.

Please see my Google Scholar or ORCID profiles for my publications list if it is not below.

When I'm not doing that I'm trying my best to be a good dad to 2 young kids whose entire lives will experience the impacts of climate change. I love running or biking somewhere on Table Mountain and very occasionally, as opportunity presents itself, satisfy my craving to ski!

If any of the above resonates with you feel free to get in touch using lennard at csag dot uct dot ac dot za.

"Everywhere you go you always take the weather with you"......Crowded House

Personal Site

Publications

sourced from ORCID (0000-0001-6085-0320): see full ORCID profile

Posts by Chris Lennard