Carme Llasat, a member of UBICS and a professor in the University of Barcelona’s Department of Applied Physics, has been named president of the Observatory de la Inundabilitat, which was recently established by the Govern. The Observatory mission is to enhance technical expertise, institutional coordination, and decision-making in the face of a phenomenon that is becoming more prevalent in Catalonia due to the climate emergency.
The Observatory is attached to the Direcció General de Transició Hídrica, which is part of the Departament de Territori, Transició Ecològica i Habitatge. It is composed of independent experts, representatives of the academic community, and members of various Catalan government bodies. Along with Dr. Llasat, other University of Barcelona experts are involved in this group, including Maria Teresa Vadrí of the Faculty of Law and Enric Pol, professor emeritus of the Faculty of Psychology.
The consellera of Territori, Transició Ecològica i Habitatge, Sílvia Paneque, chaired the first session of this advisory body that took place on October 16. Paneque pointed out that the constitution of the Observatori “reinforces the Catalan government’s commitment to flood risk management and to the safety of people and goods”. Likewise, she declared, “the alliance between administration, science, and territory is essential to face the challenges that climate change poses to us”. And she said, “this observatory must contribute to the transmission of knowledge and information that reaches citizens and, therefore, to the creation of a responsible society”.
Llasat, who is one of the highest international scientific authorities in the analysis of extreme weather phenomena, is director of the AGrup d’Anàlisi de Situacions Meteorològiques Adverses (GAMA), member of the Institut de Sistemes Complexos (UBICS) and the Institut de Recerca de l’Aigua (IdRA) of the UB. Distinguished with the Creu de Sant Jordi in 2022, she is the author of a large number of scientific articles, and led the first scientific report on the impact of climate and environmental change in the Mediterranean.
We at the UBICS would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Llasat.