UK to join EU ocean science scheme to better predict extreme weather events

Britain is to join a major new ocean science programme, led by the EU, to better forecast extreme weather and climate events, it will announce today in New York.

The announcement comes as Andy Burnham’s government aims to rebuild the UK’s relationship with Europe, and follows warnings that this year’s “supersized” El Niño, tracked in the Pacific Ocean, will fuel more extreme weather globally.

Scientists have warned that the global marine monitoring system, which is vital to predict extreme weather events and ultimately to save lives, is under strain after threats by the US administration this year to dismantle its substantial share of global ocean observations.

In June, the EU launched a €92m (£78m) initiative called OceanEye, to boost its role in ocean observation and to provide data-backed marine intelligence to deepen understanding and management of the ocean. It plans to create a digital “real time” replica model of the ocean, collected by satellites, sensors and other models by 2030, to help decisions on ocean protection and security. The EU introduced an international alliance with Canada as part of OceanEye, to address critical gaps in under-monitored regions and strengthen cooperation between nations.

In addition to weather and climate predictions, ocean observations also underpin national security, global trade and marine protections.

The environment secretary, Angela Eagle, will announce the UK is to join the scheme at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York at a meeting attended by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister.

Britain will share more data from the Met Office and other agencies with the EU and Canada than before.

Eagle will tell the event: “As an island nation and a global leader in climate science, we know that data from ocean monitoring is essential to our ability to protect and restore our oceans, and anticipate and respond to the huge threats they face, because we cannot save our oceans if we do not understand them.”

“Changing weather patterns and currents are fuelling the extreme weather which is already impacting all of our nations – through floods, droughts, storms and extreme heat. That’s why the UK is so committed to maintaining our vital global network of observation systems, which span coastal waters, shelf seas and the open ocean, including some of the longest-running observations in the world.”

Joining the alliance to support and provide data to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) would help better protect Britain from the impacts of climate change, said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Currently, the global ocean observing capacity has significant gaps, at the poles, the deep ocean and of biological measurements.

The US, which provides over half the ocean observing platforms and much of the technology, has reversed a proposal to scrap its $368m (£275m) funding for its Ocean Observatories Initiative after a backlash from scientists. However, moves to cut funding for US ocean agencies have left GOOS vulnerable to changing priorities of the US administration.