What Solutions Do Leading Global Scholars Propose for Extreme Weather Events?

Global Experts Gather in Busan for BACO-25
First Joint Conference of Meteorology, Oceanography, and Cryosphere Divisions in 16 Years
Event Highlights Urgent Climate Issues and International Collaboration

An opportunity will be provided to share geoscientific solutions proposed by leading global scholars for the sustainable future of the planet, which is facing complex crises such as extreme weather events.

From July 20 to 25, the '2025 IUGG Meteorology-Oceanography-Cryosphere International Conference (BACO-25)' will be held at BEXCO in Busan for six days, with more than 1,500 experts and stakeholders from over 40 countries around the world. This event is jointly organized by the three divisions of Meteorology, Oceanography, and Cryosphere under the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).

What Solutions Do Leading Global Scholars Propose for Extreme Weather Events?

On July 10, the BACO-25 Organizing Committee held a press conference at Vertex Korea in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, and announced that it would hold a variety of official events and side programs, including keynote speeches and academic presentations in 68 sessions, an industry exhibition for meteorology, oceanography, and cryosphere, business meetings, and field trips outside the classroom.

The IUGG holds joint conferences with its individual divisions in eight fields?meteorology, oceanography, cryosphere, geodesy, hydrology, geomagnetism, seismology, and volcanology?every four years. The academic conference for the meteorology, oceanography, and cryosphere divisions is being held for the first time in 16 years.

In particular, Busan was selected as the host city for BACO-25 after competing with Manchester, United Kingdom, in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2017. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed, and it is now being held nine years after winning the hosting rights. It also commemorates the International Year of Glaciers.

Myungin Lee, Secretary General of the BACO-25 Organizing Committee (Professor of Earth Environment and Urban Construction Engineering at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology), explained the significance of this event, saying, "It is meaningful that we have brought an event that used to shuttle between Europe and North America to Asia. The decision to host the conference was made in response to the appeal to spread the importance of earth sciences and climate change in Asia to the world."

The keynote speeches at BACO-25 will be delivered by four world-renowned scholars. Hoesung Lee, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an environmental energy expert who was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2019, will present climate crisis response strategies under the theme "Climate Action for All." Zhu Tong, Professor at Peking University and Chair of the FE-MAIRS Scientific Steering Committee, who is recognized as one of China's top scholars and an expert in air pollution, will propose an international cooperation plan to address fossil fuel consumption issues under the theme "Health Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Change."

Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Professor at the University of Tokyo and a leading authority in climate modeling and ice sheet research, will discuss "Ice Sheet and Sea Ice Dynamics in Past and Future Climate Change During the Geological Era." Roxy Mathew Koll, a senior scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the world's leading authority on climate change and extreme weather events in the Indo-Pacific region, will present strategies for strengthening resilience in climate-sensitive regions under the theme "Tropical Climate Change: Indo-Pacific Warm Pool, MJO, and Monsoon in a Warming World."

In addition, over the course of five days, experts from around the world will present their research findings in 68 sessions across the meteorology, oceanography, and cryosphere divisions.

Hakyungja, Chairperson of the BACO-25 Organizing Committee (Professor of Atmospheric Environmental Science at Pusan National University, center in the photo), is answering reporters' questions. Photo by Jonghwa Kim

Hakyungja, Chairperson of the Organizing Committee (Professor of Atmospheric Environmental Science at Pusan National University), emphasized, "At this international conference, earth sciences will propose solutions to complex crises such as the pandemic, energy crisis, and extreme weather events, and we will share insights on global cooperation and a sustainable future. The reliability of our future predictions has greatly improved, and I hope to demonstrate that at this conference."

The Organizing Committee also plans to raise awareness of the seriousness of climate change and promote scientific understanding through public programs such as the Earth Environment Film Festival and public lectures by distinguished earth scientists (Earth Science Day), which will be open to the general public.

On July 20, a special program, the Earth Environment Film Festival, will be held at Busan Cinema Center, screening the documentary film "Here Now Project," which depicts the reality of extreme weather events and the climate crisis, vividly conveying the urgency of climate change to the audience. Audience members who register in advance will receive a voucher worth 15,000 won that can be used at the venue's concession stand.

Chairperson Hakyungja said, "I hope that this conference in Busan will serve as an opportunity to advance research and international cooperation in meteorology, oceanography, and cryosphere divisions both domestically and internationally, and to promote public communication in response to the climate crisis."