Mission
The Columbia Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate is focused on understanding the risks to human life and property from extreme weather events, both in the present and future climates, and on developing solutions to mitigate those risks. The Initiative engages the broad and deep expertise that exists across Columbia University on all dimensions of this problem. With partners in the private sector, government, and academia, we work towards the goal of greater societal resilience to extreme weather and climate.
Studying extreme weather and climate issues requires an approach that moves beyond traditionally isolated disciplines. This initiative will focus on a broad but nonetheless cutting-edge dimension of the climate problem where we at Columbia University have deep and broad expertise, and on which societal interest is great. This initiative provides a locus for organizing our intellectual resources internally by working in a cross-disciplinary matter, across a wide range of schools, departments and units, and bringing a variety of experts together in a way that reflects the complexity of the issue.