High-resolution downscaling for climate change impacts in Armenia

Narine Piliposyan, climate scientist at the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center of Armenia (Armhydromet), completed a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) in Birmensdorf, Switzerland, from 1 to 30 September 2026, within the framework of COST Action CA24163 CROSS-CASCADE.

During the month-long mission, Narine worked with the FORACCA team at WSL on high-resolution climate data processing and downscaling, with a particular focus on the CHELSA framework and its application to climate change studies in Armenia. The work included preparing and evaluating the spatial and climate datasets required for the downscaling workflow, working with ERA5 reanalysis and global climate model data, and testing and troubleshooting the processing procedures.

The STSM also provided practical experience in bias correction of historical and future climate datasets and in processing large datasets in a high-performance computing environment. Working with Python, SAGA GIS, CHELSA, and related processing workflows strengthened practical understanding of the technical steps required to produce and evaluate high-resolution climate information.

The experience gained during the mission will support further climate-data activities at Armhydromet, particularly climate variability and extreme-event analysis, climate change assessment, and the development of high-resolution climate information and climate services for Armenia. The mission also strengthened the existing collaboration with WSL through the FORACCA project and created opportunities for continued scientific and technical cooperation.

Narine would like to express her sincere thanks to the WSL and FORACCA teams for their support and collaboration during the mission, and to the COST Association and COST Action CA24163 CROSS-CASCADE for supporting this Short-Term Scientific Mission.