New $25 Million Initiative Aims to Advance Southeast Asia’s Weather Science With AI, Modelling, and local talent.
SINGAPORE — In a major push to strengthen weather and climate research across Southeast Asia, Singapore has officially launched the Climate and Weather Research Alliance Singapore (CAWRAS) — a new national platform aimed at enhancing tropical climate science, developing cutting-edge forecasting capabilities, and building a homegrown pipeline of scientific talent.
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
CAWRAS brings together four major institutions — the National Environment Agency (NEA), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore), and the National University of Singapore (NUS) — in what officials describe as a strategic and long-term investment in the country’s environmental resilience and regional leadership in climate innovation.
A $25 Million Weather Research Programme to Lead the Way
The alliance’s first flagship initiative is the Weather Science Research Programme (WSRP), a $25 million effort funded under Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan. The programme is led by the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) and will unite leading research teams to develop national capabilities in weather science.
According to officials, the WSRP is designed to leverage rapid advances in high-resolution modelling, artificial intelligence (AI), and observational networks, which are increasingly seen as game-changers in weather forecasting.
Ten research projects have been awarded under the WSRP, targeting four strategic areas:
- Improving the use of weather observations
- Developing next-generation weather and climate models
- Conducting historical weather re-analysis for Southeast Asia
- Enhancing prediction accuracy with advanced post-processing techniques
These efforts are expected to significantly boost Singapore’s forecasting capabilities and support disaster preparedness, urban planning, public health, and economic planning in the face of rising climate risks.
Building a Climate-Ready Future Through Talent and Technology
Beyond technical research, CAWRAS is also focused on nurturing a local pipeline of talent in climate and weather science. This is part of a broader strategy to secure long-term national resilience in a region increasingly exposed to extreme weather events and climate disruptions.
“Leveraging NTU’s track record in Earth and environmental sciences, supported by infrastructure like the Earth Observatory of Singapore and our Climate Transformation Programme, we are uniquely positioned to combine AI, remote sensing, and advanced environmental modelling to forecast tropical weather with greater accuracy,” said Professor Ernst Kuipers, Vice President (Research) at NTU Singapore.
He added that the initiative will promote interdisciplinary collaboration in fields ranging from medicine and public health to environmental engineering and urban resilience, cementing Singapore’s role as a regional hub for tropical weather and climate science.
While CAWRAS’s immediate focus is on weather forecasting, its leaders have signalled plans to expand into longer-term climate research, aiming to better understand regional climate trends, enhance adaptation strategies, and inform public policy.
As climate change accelerates across Southeast Asia, Singapore’s proactive investment in weather science marks a decisive step toward building a more climate-resilient nation — and a smarter, more prepared region.
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