Chris Funk is Director of the Climate Hazards Center (CHC) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he works with collaborators to develop data sets, forecasts, and inter-disciplinary early warning systems. Chris has been an author or co-author of many publications focusing on climate, climate change, drought, early warning and food security. Recent books include Drought Early Warning and Forecasting and  Drought, Flood, Fire: How Climate Change Contributes to Recent Catastrophes, with Cambridge University Press. One long term focus of Chris’ research has been the drivers of East African drought, and the associated opportunities for drought prediction. A new and evolving area of interest is the negative impact of heat and vapor pressure deficits on vegetation in data sparse regions of the Global South. While his research interests are quite diverse, a central theme uniting Chris’ work is developing both the technical/scientific resources and the conceptual frameworks that will help us cope with increasingly dangerous climate and weather extremes.

Session:

• Climate change and human security: Building integrated early warning systems to increase resilience in the Sahel 
• How can Climate Risk Management be Strengthened in Conflict Zones?

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