Regional Climate Modelling In The Caribbean

The information here represents a compilation of existing and ongoing regional and
national climate modelling studies that could be useful in the execution of the regional project
The Economics of Climate Change in Caribbean. The report is mainly focused on the sustainable
regional efforts that represent opportunities for further developments in climate change scenarios. It
describes the different techniques that have been used to model changes in temperature and precipitation
in the Caribbean and compares the outputs of these models. Essentially, temperatures are expected to
increase while precipitation may increase for countries in the more southerly latitudes, but decrease for
more northerly countries (Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola) resulting in drought. These changes would
present tremendous challenges for the Caribbean subregion and, despite significant progress made in
recent years, there is a need for continuous development of climate research and modelling in the
subregion, to produce more relevant information for regional and national studies and to overcome the
limitations of existing results.
This may well be realized through coordination of activities between the Caribbean Community
Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), the Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) in Cuba and the University of
the West Indies (UWI). These activities will address the implementation of further analyses using
available information to generate best practices and to produce useful results.
There are also new opportunities for climate research in the region with Coordinated Regional
Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) which is planned to start early next year. It is expected that the
participation of various Caribbean institutions like INSMET, UWI, CCCC and the Caribbean Institute for
Meteorology and Hydrology in this global project will allow the generation of new and more abundant
information.