University of Birmingham and Met Office extend their weather and climate science partnership to 2030.
The University has again been selected to be one of the partnership's core academic members, working with the Met Office to advance weather and climate science, strengthen national capability, and support evidence-based decision-making.
The renewed partnership marks the start of a new £24m collaboration supported through the Met Office Academic Partnership's second Science Delivery Framework (SDF2), which will run until 2030. The framework is designed to accelerate collaborative research, support early-career researchers and strengthen multidisciplinary approaches to some of the most pressing weather and climate challenges facing society.
Researchers from the University of Birmingham contribute expertise across a range of priority areas, including climate risk, extreme weather, resilience, data science, health impacts and adaptation. Through the partnership, academics work closely with Met Office scientists to develop the evidence, tools and insights needed to support communities, businesses and governments in responding to a changing climate.
A key example of this collaboration is the University's contribution to the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA4). Published in May 2026 the independent assessment that informs the UK Government's understanding of climate-related risks and opportunities. Birmingham researchers have provided expertise on climate hazards, impacts and adaptation, helping to ensure policymakers have access to the latest scientific evidence as they plan for future climate challenges.
The extension of the Met Office Academic Partnership underlines the strength of weather and climate research at the University. Working collaboratively with colleagues across the partnership, we are bringing together world-leading academic expertise and operational climate science. Through this collaboration we are helping to generate the evidence needed to support more resilient communities, infrastructure and services in the face of a changing climate. Our contribution to initiatives such as CCRA4 demonstrates how research can directly inform national decision-making and adaptation planning
The partnership provides a unique environment in which university researchers and Met Office scientists can work together to tackle complex climate and weather-related challenges. By combining disciplinary expertise, data and operational capabilities, we can accelerate scientific discovery while ensuring that research has real-world impact. We are delighted to continue this collaboration through to 2030.
The Met Office Academic Partnership brings together research excellence from the Met Office and leading UK universities to advance the science and skill of weather and climate prediction. Since 2022, the partnership's Science Delivery Framework has supported nearly 80 research contracts across programmes including the Hadley Centre Climate Programme, the Next Generation Modelling System, the Transatlantic Data Science Programme and Fourth Climate Change Risk Assessment.
The extension of the partnership reinforces the University of Birmingham's key role and commitment to delivering research that informs climate action, supports adaptation and resilience, and helps society respond to the challenges of a changing world.
Professor of Climate Resilience & Met Office Joint Chair
Professor Lee Chapman investigates the impact of weather and climate on the built environment.
Professor of Meteorology and Climatology & Met Office Joint Chair
Professor Leckebusch is a leading expert in natural science research on meteorological and climatological extreme events and related impacts.
Associate Professor
Staff profile for Emma Ferranti. Emma's research interests include infrastructure meteorology, urban climatology, synoptic climatology, green infrastructure, air quality, and GIS.
Professor of Atmospheric Science
Professor Pfrang's work is focusses on gas-phase and heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry exploring the fate of atmospheric aerosols and their impacts on air quality and climate change.
Professor of Atmospheric Science
Professor Francis Pope is an environmental scientist with wide ranging interests in the atmospheric sciences, human health and sustainable cities.
Professor of Climate Adaptation
Staff profile page for Professor Andrew Quinn of the University of Birmingham.
Associate Professor in Mathematical Optimisation and Data Science
Staff profile for Dr Xiaocheng Shang, School of Mathematics, University of Birmingham
Associate Professor in Resilience Engineering
Xilin Xia is a computational modeller of natural hazards, (floods and landslides and their impacts), covering computational hydraulics, high-performance computing, machine learning and natural hazard resilience.
