Dr. Muhammad Azhar Ehsan is a Climate Scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR) within the Columbia Climate School, Columbia University. His expertise lies in climate science, particularly in understanding the large-scale motions of the atmosphere and ocean that contribute to predictability beyond the typical seven-day weather forecast.
Dr. Ehsan primary research involves diagnosing and extracting valuable information from observational and climate model datasets. He conducts research and develops products to provide climate information across short (weeks to seasonal) and long (decadal to climate change projections) timescales, with a focus on understanding the interactions between these temporal scales. Additionally, he studies the sensitivity of regional climates to changing sea surface temperature patterns in the tropical Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, identifies sources of predictability, and investigates the physical processes underlying regional hydroclimatic conditions.
Before joining CCSR, he served as an Associate Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Research Scientist at IRI. Prior to his tenure at IRI, he held a Postdoctoral position at the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. Additionally, he worked as a researcher at the Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research (CECCR) at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and as a Scientific Officer at the Global Change Impacts Studies Center (GCISC) Islamabad Pakistan.
He oversees the monthly climate forecast and ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) briefing at the IRI. Additionally, he is responsible for content creation that details ENSO monitoring and forecast information, as well as global climate information. His research interests include;
Research Interests
- ENSO Dynamics, Forecasts, teleconnections, and Impacts
- Research and Development of Climate Forecasts: (Weekly, seasonal and out to a year and beyond),
- Regional Climate Variability and its relation to Changing Sea Surface Temperatures,
- Climate Impacts.
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