Germany, Hamburg-Offenbach (23-27 June 2025) – Climate change has become increasingly severe each year. Major cities have faced challenges such as urban heat islands, flash floods, air pollution and rising energy demand. Developing urban climate services has therefore become crucial to supporting city planning and public policies that can adapt to and recover from the impacts of a changing climate.

This study trip to Germany was organised under the Urban-Act project, where delegates from the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) learned from and exchanged knowledge with German researchers and meteorologists. The programme covered climate modelling, field data analysis, and practical applications for public services, while also laying the groundwork for future Thai-German collaboration.

Exploring urban climate science in Hamburg

Dr David Grawe, Head of the Mesoscale and Microscale Modelling (MeMi) Canopies Group

The Thai delegation began the study trip in Hamburg, meeting Dr David Grawe, Head of the Mesoscale and Microscale Modelling (MeMi) Canopies group, and experts from the Meteorological Institute of the University of Hamburg (UHH). The delegation learned about urban climate modelling, including temperature, wind and rainfall, as well as techniques to validate models using real-world data.

TMD delegates visiting the Environmental Wind Tunnel Laboratory (EWTL)

A key highlight was a visit to the Environmental Wind Tunnel Laboratory (EWTL), which demonstrated wind flow and particle dispersion in urban environments. This facility provides valuable insights for designing city layouts that reduce heat islands and improve air quality.

TMD delegates visiting the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ)

The delegation also visited the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ), home to one of the world’s most powerful climate supercomputers. Here, they observed how massive datasets are processed to generate actionable urban climate knowledge – offering a model for developing Thailand’s own climate data centre in the future.

Integrating climate science into public services

An expert from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon provides insights into urban air quality and the application of Chemistry Transport Models (CTMs)

At the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, a leading German research institute whose research focuses on environmental science and engineering, the Thai delegation explored Chemistry Transport Models (CTMs), which combine pollution data, weather patterns and atmospheric chemical reactions. These models generate four-dimensional air quality maps (3D plus time), revealing how air quality changes hourly, daily or seasonally. Additionally, they also demonstrate how PM2.5 particles disperse at different heights in urban areas, enhancing the accuracy of pollution monitoring and forecasting.

Strengthening Thailand’s climate services at DWD

Tobias Fuchs (white shirt), member of the Executive Board of Directors of the DWD, welcomes the Thai delegation

The city of Offenbach is home to the German Meteorological Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst – DWD), which plays a key role in both forecasting and climate innovation. During the visit, the Thai delegation explored several important aspects:

• German Climate Atlas – an interactive online platform providing past, present and future climate data, with visualisation tools and application programming interface (API) access. Researchers, app developers and government agencies can use it to access historical temperatures, average rainfall and other data for developing applications, urban models and policy planning.
• Global Precipitation Climatology Centre – GPCC – managing rainfall data in real time and retrospectively, with quality assurance and control processes. The centre also provides solar radiation data, supporting energy sector planning.

Top-left: TMD delegates visited the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC); Top-right: A DWD expert explains how AI and ML are being integrated into forecasting; Bottom-left: An expert from the Urban and Regional Climatology Division provides insights into urban climate modelling; Bottom-right: The TMD team touring the DWD’s Forecast and Advisory Centre (VBZ)

• Discussions on modelling systems, statistical downscaling and post-processing techniques to improve the accuracy of climate services and products.
• Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to enhance precision and responsiveness in climate forecasting.
• Study of the PALM-4U model, an advanced tool for simulating complex urban environments.
• Forecast and Advisory Centre (VBZ) – monitoring, analysing and issuing warnings or advice on extreme weather events such as storms, heavy rainfall, snow, heatwaves and haze. The centre supports government agencies, aviation, shipping, transport, emergency services and the public.
• Radioactivity Monitoring Laboratory – a national reference lab that continuously tracks radioactive particles in air and rainwater, performs analyses, and supports Germany’s nuclear safety and civil protection systems.

Towards long-term cooperation
Discussions between the TMD and DWD identified several areas for long-term collaboration:

• Technical training, data exchange and joint research on urban climate models under Urban-Act. Dr Chalump Oonariya, Director of the Climate Data Centre, will participate in a short-term research programme at the DWD to translate this partnership into practice.
• Opportunities to connect Thailand’s Climate Field School with Germany’s Agricultural Meteorology Department, aiming to develop climate-informed cropping calendars that support sustainable farming in Thailand.

Implications for Thailand
This study trip significantly enhanced the TMD’s technical capacity in advanced modelling, big data processing and innovative climate applications.

To date, Urban-Act has already introduced urban climate data into planning in pilot cities such as Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, and Phuket – producing hazard maps to support adaptation to flooding, heat and pollution. Building on Germany’s experience, Thailand is now better positioned to scale up solutions nationwide.