Blog | Dr. Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini

The Past 3 Years Have Been the Three Hottest

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The recent analysis published by Berkeley Earth, corroborated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), confirms that 2025 was the third-warmest year on record. This year follows 2024 and 2023, collectively forming a three-year “warming spike” that deviates significantly from long-term linear trends and poses critical questions regarding the acceleration of anthropogenic climate change.

Statistical Overview and Record Benchmarks

In 2025, global average temperatures were estimated to be between 1.35°C and 1.53°C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial baseline. While slightly lower than the peaks seen in 2024 ($1.46\text{--}1.62\text{°C}$) and 2023 ($1.48\text{--}1.60\text{°C}$), the data underscores a persistent breach of, or proximity to, the 1.5°C threshold established by the Paris Agreement.

NOAA-NCEI’s independent methodology, which utilizes a 20th-century average as its benchmark, reached a consistent conclusion, placing 2025 at 1.17°C above that mean. This inter-agency consensus reinforces the reliability of current global thermometry despite varying analytical frameworks.

Dynamics of the “warming spike”

Chief Scientist Robert Rohde and other researchers suggest that the 2023–2025 period represents a potential shift in climate velocity. The magnitude of this spike exceeds what is typically attributed to greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing and internal natural variability alone. Several exogenous and feedback factors are under investigation:

Aerosol Forcing: Post-2020 regulations reducing sulfur emissions from maritime shipping have inadvertently decreased the “parasol effect,” where sulfate aerosols reflect incoming solar radiation.
Volcanic Forcing: The 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption injected massive quantities of water vapor (a potent GHG) into the stratosphere, though its precise radiative forcing impact is still being quantified.
ENSO Transitions: While 2023 and 2024 were amplified by a strong El Niño, 2025 saw a transition to weak La Niña conditions. Typically, La Niña exerts a cooling influence; the fact that 2025 remained the third-hottest year despite this suggests that the underlying warming signal is increasingly dominant.

Sociopolitical and regional impacts

The human cost of this thermal trend is concentrated: in 2025, approximately 770 million people, primarily in Asia, experienced their hottest local year on record. Notably, no region on Earth recorded a record-cold year, highlighting the global scale of the imbalance.

Furthermore, data from the Rhodium Group indicates a 2.4% increase in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2025, complicating international mitigation efforts. As the U.S. recorded its fourth-hottest year, the disconnect between climate reality and emissions trajectories remains a primary concern for policymakers.

Future projections

Berkeley Earth projects that 2026 will likely be the fourth-warmest year on record. The transition of the 2023–2025 spike from an anomaly into a potential new “baseline” suggests that historical warming rates may no longer serve as reliable predictors for future climate modeling. This underscores the urgent need for robust, open-source climate data to inform evidence-based adaptation and mitigation strategies.

For more information please visit:

Scientists say the exceptional warming observed in the past 3 years could be evidence of accelerating warming. Credit: Berkeley Earth, CC BY-NC 4.0

WMO confirms 2024 as warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial level

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released a consolidated report confirming that 2024 was the warmest calendar year on record. By synthesizing six leading international datasets, the WMO provides a high-confidence assessment of global thermal anomalies, the state of oceanic heat reservoirs, and the current standing of international climate targets.

1. Temperature anomalies and statistical significance

The global mean surface temperature in 2024 was calculated at $1.55 \text{°C}$ above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial baseline, with a margin of uncertainty of $\pm 0.13 \text{°C}$. This marks the first time a single calendar year has likely exceeded the 1.5°C threshold.

To ensure authoritative results, the WMO integrated data from the following institutions:

Atmospheric/Satellite Agencies: ECMWF (Europe), Japan Meteorological Agency, NASA (USA).
Surface Instrumental Records: NOAA (USA), Berkeley Earth, and the UK Met Office (HadCRUT).

While all six datasets identified 2024 as the warmest year, slight methodological variations mean that not every individual agency placed the anomaly above 1.5°C. However, the consolidated mean provides a robust signal of unprecedented global heating.

2. The Paris agreement vs. annual spikes

A critical technical distinction made in the report concerns the Paris Agreement. WMO experts clarify that a single-year breach of 1.5°C does not constitute a failure to meet the treaty’s long-term goals. The Paris Agreement targets are measured over multi-decadal averages (typically 20–30 years).

Current Long-Term Warming: As of 2024, the assessed long-term global warming trend stands at approximately 1.3°C above the baseline.
Transient Forcing: The 2024 spike was amplified by a strong El Niño event that persisted from mid-2023 through May 2024.

Despite this distinction, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo emphasized that every fraction of a degree matters, as incremental increases correlate directly with the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, cryosphere loss, and sea-level rise.

3. Marine thermodynamics and Ocean Heat Content (OHC)

While surface temperatures capture public attention, the report highlights that 90% of excess heat from anthropogenic warming is absorbed by the oceans. A study in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences cited by the WMO indicates that ocean temperatures have reached record highs in both surface and sub-surface layers (down to 2,000 meters).

Energy Benchmark: Between 2023 and 2024, the upper 2,000 meters of the ocean gained 16 Zettajoules ($10^{21}$ Joules) of heat. For context, this energy increase is approximately 140 times the total global electricity generation for the year 2023.

This massive thermal inertia in the marine system ensures that sea-level rise and glacier retreat will continue for centuries, regardless of short-term surface temperature fluctuations.

4. Policy implications and future monitoring

UN Secretary-General António Guterres utilized the report to call for trail-blazing climate action, urging governments to submit revised national climate action plans. The data serves as a technical foundation for the UN Climate Change negotiating process, providing the empirical evidence required for global decarbonization strategies. The WMO will release a comprehensive “State of the Global Climate 2024” report in March 2025, detailing further indicators such as greenhouse gas concentrations and sea-ice extent.

For more information please visit:

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Xie, SP., Miyamoto, A., Zhang, P. et al. What made 2023 and 2024 the hottest years in a row?. npj Clim Atmos Sci 8, 117 (2025).

“Today’s assessment from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) proves yet again – global heating is a cold, hard fact,” said UN Secretary-General Antóno Guterres. Source: WMO

Anemometer installation at the Invernada station

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Last Tuesday, April 9th 2024, part of the Water Resources Observatory team of the Department of Civil Engineering ( ) of the Universidad of La Frontera carried out the installation of an anemometer in the Invernada meteorological station located in the Conguillio National Park (Los Paraguas sector).

The installation of this anemometer will allow the station to record both the average hourly wind speed, the gust speed (maximum instantaneous speed), and the wind direction. These parameters are added to the existing measurements of precipitation, air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity and dew point, providing essential data for future research related to water resources in the region. In particular, from now on it will be possible to estimate the reference evapotranspiration, which accounts for the maximum amount of water that a standard crop is capable of evaporating.

It is important to note that this station is one of the few located at an elevation close to 1000 meters above sea level in the La Araucanía Region. In addition, this station transmits data in (almost) real time, which can be viewed at the following link:

This milestone marked the end of a great filed work day for the team, which in this occasion included Dra. Rebeca Martínez, Civil Engineer Rodrigo Marinao, undergratuate student Marfa Saldivia and Dr. Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini. During the installation day it was also possible to carry out other routine activities, including streamflow measurements (through gauging and mass balance) and estimation of soil hydraulic conductivity (double ring infiltrometer).

These advances have been possible thanks to the funding provided by the projects: ANID Fondecyt Regular 1212071, ANID-NSFC 190018, ANID Fondecyt Postdoctoral 11190864, UFRO Postdoc grant405VRIP20P001, and ANID Fondecyt Postdoctoral 3220382.

Anemómetro

Estación invernada

Parte del equipo de trabjo

Article on hydrological drought monitoring published in HESS

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

On March 28th, 2024, published the article entitled . This study investigates the suitability of different drought indices and temporal scales for monitoring streamflow drought in catchments with different hydrological regimes.

Considering the lack of consensus on which drought indices and temporal scales are most appropriate for monitoring hydrological droughts, and the growing interest in the use of spatially distributed drought indices in ungauged areas (i.e, without streamflow data), this study addresses the following questions:

i) Which temporal scales of precipitation-based indices are best suited to assess streamflow drought in catchments with different hydrological regimes?

ii) Are soil moisture indices superior to meteorological indices as proxies of streamflow drought?

iii) Are snow indices more effective than meteorological indices for assessing streamflow drought in snow-influenced catchments?

To answer these questions, we investigated 100 near-natural catchments in Chile with four hydrological regimes (nival, nivo-pluvial, pluvio-nival, and pluvial), using the standardised precipitation index (SPI), the standardised precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), the empirical standardised soil moisture index (ESSMI), and the standardised snow water equivalent index (SWEI), aggregated over different temporal scales. Cross-correlation and event coincidence analyses were performed between these indices and the standardised streamflow index on a temporal scale of 1 month (SSI-1), as representative of streamflow drought events.

Our results reveal that no single drought index and temporal scale can be recommended for all catchments and hydrological regimes, and that snow-influenced catchments require drought indices with larger temporal scales. In particular, for snowmelt-driven catchments characterised by a slow response of runoff to precipitation we recommend SPI-12 and SPI-24 as the best proxy indices for characterising streamflow droughts. In contrast, for faster-response rainfall-driven catchments we recommend the SPI-3 as the best proxies. Although soil moisture and snowpack are key variables that modulate the propagation of meteorological deficits into hydrological ones, the SPI and SPEI meteorological indices generally outperformed the soil moisture and snowpack-based indices in monitoring streamflow drought. Finally, to exclude the influence of non-drought periods, we recommend using the event coincidence analysis, a method that helps to assess the suitability of meteorological, soil moisture, and/or snowpack-based drought indices as proxies for streamflow drought events.

The to this article contains much aditional information on:

the selection of soil moisture and SWE products (S1),
the temporal scales with the highest cross-correlation and event coincidence rates (S2),
boxplots for analysing the cross-correlation and event coincidence on different temporal scales and with different lag times (S3),
spatial analysis for cross-correlation and event coincidence analysis at different temporal scales and lag times (S4),
boxplots for the cross-correlation analysis for different hydrological regimes (S5),
boxplots for the event coincidence analysis for different hydrological regimes (S6),
difference between parametric and non-parametric approach for the calculation of drought indices for soil moisture (S7),
summary of them median monthly P and Q values for all selected catchments (S8), and
figures with the median monthly P and Q values for all selected catchments (S9).

This work is the result of years of international collaboration with Dr. Oscar M. Baez-Villanueva, collecting and analysing different gridded datasets of key meteorological variables, since the ANID Fondecyt 11150861 project in 2017. In particular, this article was an integral part of the project lead by Camila Álvarez-Garretón and Juan Pablo Boisier at the , and received additional funding from the research projects led by me at , Chile.

I hope that the results of this article can be considered by the General Directorate of Water of Chile (DGA) to improve the criteria used to monitor and identify hydrological droughts in Chile, within the framework of water scarcity declarations (Res. Exe. DGA No. 1331/2022, and articles 314 and 315 of the Chilean Water Code).

The full article can be found here: .

Graphical abstract

2023 was the warmest year on record, (NOAA)

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Earth’s average land and ocean surface temperature in 2023 was 1.18ºC above the 20th century, the highest global temperature among all years in NOAA’s 1850-2023 climate record. It also beats the next warmest year, 2016, by a record-setting margin of 0.15ºC.

The 10 warmest years since 1850 have all occurred in the past decade. In fact, the average global temperature for 2023 exceeded the pre-industrial (1850-1900) average by 1.35ºC.

For more information please visit:

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Hottest July on Record (174 years), (NASA)

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Earth just roasted under its hottest July on record, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and also ffrom scientist from NASA.

For the fourth-consecutive month, the global ocean surface temperature also hit a record high.

Overall, July 2023 was 0.24ºC warmer than any other July in NASA’s record (since 1880), and it was 1.18ºC warmer than the average July between 1951 and 1980.

Parts of South America, North Africa, North America, and the Antarctic Peninsula were especially hot, experiencing temperatures increases around 4ºC above average. Overall, extreme heat this summer put tens of millions of people under heat warnings and was linked to hundreds of heat-related illnesses and deaths. The record-breaking July continues a long-term trend of human-driven warming driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions that has become evident over the past four decades. According to NASA data, the five hottest Julys since 1880 have all happened in the past five years.

“Climate change is impacting people and ecosystems around the world, and we expect many of these impacts to escalate with continued warming” said Katherine Calvin, chief scientist and senior climate advisor at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Our agency observes climate change, its impacts, and its drivers, like greenhouse gases, and we are committed providing this information to help people plan for the future.”.

For more information please visit:

This map shows global temperature anomalies for July 2023 according to the GISTEMP analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Temperature anomalies reflect how July 2023 compared to the average July temperature from 1951-1980.Credits: NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Earth just had its hottest June on record (NOAA)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The world just sweltered through its hottest June in the 174-year global climate record.

The June global surface temperature was 1.05°C above the 20th-century average of 15.5°C, making it the warmest June on record. This marked the first time a June temperature exceeded 1°C above the long-term average.

June 2023 was 0.13°C warmer than the previous June record from 2020, but 0.29°C cooler than the all-time highest monthly temperature anomaly on record (March 2016).

June 2023 marked the 47th consecutive June and the 532nd consecutive month with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th-century average.

Additionally, Earth’s ocean surface temperature anomaly, which indicates how much warmer or cooler temperatures are from the long-term average, were the highest ever recorded and the sea ice coverage hit a record low, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

For more information please visit:

This map shows global temperature anomalies for June 2023 according to the GISTEMP analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Temperature anomalies reflect how June 2023 compared to the average June temperature from 1951-1980. Credits: NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Después de la gran tormenta, ¿cómo rediseñaremos? (El Mostrador)

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I just published an opinion column in the newspaper El Mostrador on how we will redesign the infrastructure that have been affected by the big storm that hit the Central-South zone of Chile in the end of June of this year 2023.

In this column, I states that it is of vital importance that the design of future infrastructure works considers -at least- the estimation of flood risk maps, and that the use of floodplains (free of human settlements) be prioritized in the communal regulatory plans, floodplains that must be estimated using the best data and techniques available, to avoid future human, social and material tragedies.

For more information please visit:

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Article on challenge of unprecedented floods and droughts in risk management published in Nature

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On August 4, 2022, Nature published the article entitled . This article shows that risk management has reduced vulnerability to floods and droughts worldwide, but their impacts continue to increase. Therefore, we need a better understanding of the causes of impacts in a changing climate, but this better understanding has been hampered by a lack of empirical data.

Based on a global data set of 45 pairs of extreme events that occurred within the same area (one of them in Chile), an interdisciplinary team of 92 authors from various countries, led by Dra. Heidi Kreibich, showed that adequate risk management generally succeeds in reducing impacts of floods and droughts, but faces difficulties in reducing the impacts of unprecedented events, i.e., events of a magnitude never experienced before.

Furthermore, when the second extreme event was more dangerous than the first, its impact was almost always greater. This is because management was not designed to deal with such extreme events, which resulted in levees and reservoirs exceeding design levels.

In two success stories, the impact of the second, more dangerous event was less, as a result of better risk management governance and high investment in integrated management. The observed difficulty in managing unprecedented events is alarming, given that more extreme hydrological events are projected due to climate change.

This work is the fruit of years of international cooperation with the Technical University of Cologne in Germany and with the Group, dedicated to research activities on changes in hydrology and society. This work had its origins in a meeting held at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) Conference in 2018, where Dr. Zambrano-Bigiarini participated together with Dr. Camila Álvarez Garretón (both belonging to the CR2 FONDAP center) in a meeting with members of the , and began to define the objectives of this article.

The full article can be found here:

Is the megadrought over with the last frontal system? (The Clinic)

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On July 19th, 2022, Dr. Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini was interviewed about the impact of the latest frontal system in the drought that affects our country by the digital newspaper The Clinic.

In , the academic discusses the impact that the latest rainfall had in reducing the water deficit in our country, and whether or not we can affirm that the mega-drought that affects our country has ended.

The full interview can be found here:

Cambio climático alimenta 'mancha' caliente oceánica que causa megasequía en Chile según un estudio (La Tercera)

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

According to a recent study, a gigantic slick of more than 8 million kilometers located east of New Zealand is largely responsible for the dramatic lack of water that is affecting the central area of Chile.

The full note can be read on the or in the .

The scientific article published in the Journal of Climate is available

Fuente: La Tercera

Article on Water Balancece in the Nile Basin using gridded P and ETa accepted for publication in JoH-RS

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The article has been published on the journal.

This article evaluates the performance of eleven state-of-the-art precipitation (P) products and seven actual evapotranspiration (ETa) products over the Nile Basin using a four-step procedure: (i) products were evaluated at the monthly scale through a point-to-pixel approach; (ii) streamflow was modelled using the Random Forest machine learning technique, and simulated for well-performing catchments for 2009–2018 (to correspond with ETa product availability); (iii) ETa products were evaluated at the multiannual scale using the water balance method; and (iv) the ability of the best-performing and ETa products to represent monthly variations in terrestrial water storage (TWS) was assessed through a comparison with GRACE Level-3 data.

The application of the water balance using the best-performing products captures the seasonality of TWS well over the White Nile Basin, but overestimates seasonality over the Blue Nile Basin. Our study demonstrates how gridded and ETa products can be evaluated over extremely data-scarce conditions using an easily transferable methodology.

Esta es la última víctima del cambio climático en Chile (La Tercera)

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A recent study by the Center for Climate Science and Resilience , led by Dr. Mauricio Galleguillos, analyzed in detail the impact of climate change and land use change on water availability from the Cauquenes River Basin, which dried up during the summer of 2020.

The full note can be read on the [(CR)2 website]( /) or directly in [La Tercera newspaper]( ? fbclid = IwAR3HEdPXPbTyu31vOPOoQCdKHdpX0hABAN0cabWORe_5HnExwsMN4ZH62DM).

The scientific article published in the Journal of Hydrology is available

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Ingreso al Grupo de Evaluación de Ciencias de la Tierra de ANID !

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In March 2021, as a water resources specialist, I was invited to join the Assessment Group of Earth Sciences (Grupo de Evaluación de Ciencias de la Tierra) of the Chilean Science Foundation ( ), which is a great honor and responsability.

This group has to evaluate science and technologial proposals submitted by Chilean scientists to the following calls: , ,

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Balance Hídrico Nacional revela dramática situación: proyecta escasez de agua de hasta 50% y alza de temperatura de hasta 2.5°C

Mon, 04 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

An update of the Chilean Water Balance, led by academics from the University of Chile, reveals the complex local scenario, which apparently will not improve in the coming decades.

For more information please visit:

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Entra en vigencia la nueva Ley de Servicios Sanitarios Rurales

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Noticia titulada , donde se describe la nueva Ley N°20.998, la cual permitirá avanzar en forma significativa para garantizar el abastecimiento de agua potable y saneamiento para los habitantes del sector rural.

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Chi2 project on 'Exploradores 2020' (24horas.cl)

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

On September 11th, 2020 the international cooperation project NSFC190018 appeared in the Exploradores 2020 program of the 24 horas Chilean TV channel (national coverage).

This short reportage was invited by the of the , to describe the main objectives and expected results of this Chile-China cooperation. This project is a collaborative effort between the , , and the .

In this reportage, I described the , pilot study areas (Petorca en Longotoma, Mapocho en Los Almendros, Cauquenes en Desembocadura, Trancura antes de Llafenco), the methodology ( of different complexity forced by historical and future global change scenarios), and the expected results (land management planning strategies to decrease the negative impacts of global change on hydrologicl extreme events). In addition, Dra. Daniela Manuschevich described her work in the development of participatory workshops with local stakeholders in each one of the study areas, and the importance of considering them since the very beggining of this project.

This interview is available at from minute 2:34 to 6:42.

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Mawün rainfall explorer launched !

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Mawün rainfall explorer launched !

After more than one year of development, on September 1st 2020 an unprecedented web platform for exploring gridded precipitation products was launced as a new weather service at the website: :

("rain" in ) is an online platform dedicated to exploring different spatially distributed estimates of precipitation available for continental Chile until 2019, whose main objective is to facilitate the visualization and exploratory analysis of various available products.

was developed by the Water Resources Observatory of the at the with the support of the .

A description of the web platform, examples, a complete tutorial and the platform itself can be found in the following links (only in Spanish):

Description:
Examples:
Tutorial:
Web platform:

All comments are highly welcome at the e-mail address indicated in the ‘Acerca de’ window of [Mawün].

I hope that this new climate service will be useful for all those interested in precipitation.

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Article on Water Resources Management in the Araucanía region (Chile) accepted for publication in IJWRD

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The article was finally published on the journal.

The Chilean Irrigation Commission (CNR) is evaluating an important expansion of irrigated areas in the Araucanía region in southern Chile. This work uses the WEAP water allocation model to investigate whether the construction of two reservoirs combined with higher irrigation efficiency could increase drought resilience in the drought-prone Araucanía region (Chile).

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hydroPSO v0.5-0 on CRAN

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

After a long amount of work, the new version of hydroPSO (v0.5-0) was released today March 18th 2020, and it is available on CRAN now

Among its new features stand out:

Full compatibility with (hydrological/environmental) models implemented as R functions (e.g., TUWmodel, GR4J, etc)
New showing how to calibrate TUWmodel with hydroPSO.
New showing how to calibrate TUWmodel with GR4J (and other models of the airGR family).
verification: now it is fully compatible with R-based models and allows parallelisation.
read_results, plot_results, read_out :much faster now due to the use of data.table::fread instead of read.table
New dataset Trancura9414001 with daily time series on P, Temp, PET, and Q from 1979 to 2016.
Package tested against R 4.0.0 (unstable) (2020-03-17 r77992) –“Unsuffered Consequences”, following an imperative request made by CRAN.
All the new features can be read at:

I hope you enjoy it !.

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hydroGOF v0.4-0 on CRAN

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Following a request made by CRAN regarding compatibility issues with the upcoming version of R, the new version of hydroGOF (v0.4-0) was released today March 12th 2020, and it is available on CRAN now

Among its new features stand out:

Package tested against R Under development (unstable) (2020-03-10 r77920) – “Unsuffered Consequences”, following an imperative request made by CRAN.
Citation file changed, following CRAN comments.
Vignette on Goodness-of-fit Measures to Compare Obserligved and Simulated Values was moved from Sweave to Knitr.
New references were added for KGE (Santos et. al, 2018; Knoben et al., 2019; Mizukami et al., 2019)
New reference was added for me (Hill et al., 2006) Thanks to Erli Pinto dos Santos !.
br2: new argument ‘use.abs=FALSE’, to allow the user to use ‘abs(b)’ as condition to decide whether using abs(b)*r2 or [1/abs(b)]*r2 in equation (5) in Krausse et al. (2005). Thanks to Ellie White !

I hope you enjoy it !.

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hydroTSM v0.6-0 on CRAN

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Following a request made by CRAN regarding compatibility issues with the upcoming version of R, the new version of hydroTSM (v0.6-0) was released today March 11th 2020, and it is available on CRAN now

Among its new features stand out:

Package tested against R Under development (unstable) (2020-03-10 r77920) – “Unsuffered Consequences”, following an imperative request made by CRAN.
Vignette on was moved from Sweave to Knitr and now includes a climograph example.
subdaily2daily: new argument start to allow daily observations start at any time different from 00:00:00 UTC.
time2season : class of objects is now tested in a way compatible with the upcoming R 4.0.0
dm2seasonal : class of objects is now tested in a way compatible with the upcoming R 4.0.0
matrixplot : class of objects is now tested in a way compatible with the upcoming R 4.0.0

I hope you enjoy it !.

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Climate change: Last decade confirmed as warmest on record

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The 10 years to the end of 2019 have been confirmed as the warmest decade on record by three global agencies.

According to Nasa, NOAA and the UK Met Office, last year was the second warmest in a record dating back to 1850.

The past five years were the hottest in the 170-year series, with the average of each one more than 1C warmer than pre-industrial.

The Met Office says that 2020 is likely to continue this warming trend.

2016 remains the warmest year on record, when temperatures were boosted by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

For more information please visit:

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Radio Concierto interview on water scarcity

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In the early morning of today January 8th, 2020 Dr. Mauricio Zambrano Bigiarini was interviewed by Radio Concierto (national coverage), to talk about the drought and water scarcity situation that currently affects Chile.

This interview was managed by the press unit of the Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), and Dr. Zambrano-Bigiarini addresses issues such as “zero day” in some cities, the effectiveness of water saving campaigns promoted by the government, the response of the political world to the water problem, payment of patents for non-use of water, the importance of efficient water management, sustainability of use of water, and what can we do to combat water scarcity.

This interview is available at , in the block between 07:00 and 08:00 from minute 41:40 onwards.

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Article on Random Forest for merging satellite-based datasets with gorund observations published in RSE

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The article was accepted for publication in December 2019 and made available online on January 2nd 2020 in the journal.

This work presents the Random Forest based MErging Procedure (RF-MEP), which allows to combine information from ground-based measurements, satellite-based precipitation products, and topography-related features to improve the representation of the spatio-temporal distribution of precipitation, especially in data-scarce regions. RF-MEP is applied over Chile for 2000-2016, using daily measurements from 258 rain gauges for model training and 111 stations for validation. Two merged datasets were computed: RF-MEP3P (based on PERSIANN-CDR, ERA-Interim, and CHIRPSv2) and RF-MEP5P (which additionally includes CMORPHv1 and TRMM 3B42v7). Our results suggest that RF-MEP could successfully be applied to other regions and to correct other climatological variables. The RFmerge R package, which implements RF-MEP, is freely available online at .

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Special Issue on hydrological processes in LAC published in HP

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Finally, the preface was published on November 12th 2019 for the .

In this special issue of Hydrological Processes, we showcase the variety of ongoing research in catchments of the hydrometeorological, geomorphological and biogeographical mega-diverse region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The papers of this special issue address hydrological processes that regulate storage, mixing, and fluxes of water and solutes from the driest Atacama Desert in Chile (annual precipitation lower than 10 mm in some places) to the wettest mountainous areas of Central America (annual rainfall up to 8000 mm), including the richest biodiversity on Earth present in the Amazon. Not only are tropical rainforest ecosystems poorly represented in hydrologic research, the LAC contains a myriad of unique lowland to montane ecosystems across the climate gradient that also includes snow and ice processes. Opportunities to advance understanding of how vegetation and landforms redistribute moisture abound in the remote reaches of Latin America.

There are three major transcending themes covered in this SI: 1) Hydrological processes across climate gradients 2) Unique ecosystems with limited hydrological research 3) Effects of land use change on hydrology

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Article on bias correction of global high-resolution precipitation climatologies published in JoC

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

On November 4th, the article was published in the . In this article, we introduce a set of global high-resolution (0.05º) precipitation (P) climatologies corrected for bias using streamflow (Q) observations from 9372 stations worldwide.

For each station, we inferred the “true” long-term P using a Budyko curve, an empirical equation relating long-term P, Q, and potential evaporation. We subsequently calculated long-term bias correction factors for three state-of-the-art P climatologies (WorldClim V2, CHELSA V1.2, and CHPclim V1), after which we used random forest regression to produce global gap-free bias correction maps for the climatologies. Monthly climatological bias correction factors were calculated by disaggregating the long-term bias correction factors based on gauge catch efficiencies.

We found that all three climatologies systematically underestimate P over parts of all major mountain ranges globally, despite the explicit consideration of orography in the production of each climatology. Additionally, all climatologies underestimate P at latitudes > 60ºN, likely due to gauge under-catch. Exceptionally high long-term correction factors (> 1.5) were obtained for all three climatologies in Alaska, High Mountain Asia, and Chile - regions characterized by marked elevation gradients, sparse gauge networks, and significant snowfall. Using the bias-corrected WorldClim V2, we demonstrated that other widely used P datasets (GPCC V2015, GPCP V2.3, and MERRA-2) severely underestimate P over Chile, the Himalayas, and along the Pacific coast of North America. Mean P for the global land surface based on the bias-corrected WorldClim V2 is 862 mm yr−1 (a 9.4% increase over the original WorldClim V2).

The annual and monthly bias-corrected P climatologies have been released as the Precipitation Bias CORrection (PBCOR) dataset — downloadable via .

This work started with the visit of Hylke Beck to the Universidad de La Frontera in January 2019, thanks to the funds provided by the Fondecyt project 11150861.

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Sequia y escasez hídrica en Chile - parecidas pero no iguales (El Mostrador)

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

We cannot solve a problem that we do not fully understand. Water scarcity in a place is the result of a complex interaction between meteorological anomalies, hydrological processes and changes in the use that man makes of the resource. Our current inability to properly analyze and manage water scarcity points out a failure in our understanding of the problem as a whole, and to inadequate data and tools to monitor the evolution of water over time.

For more information please visit:

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Crisis hídrica, sequía legal y carretera hídrica (El Mostrador)

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The country cannot continue to be a victim of the lobby of those who promote initiatives for their benefit over the damage of Chileans and against the public interest. Chile needs a legal framework that prioritizes security and equity in access to the vital element for the stability of drinking water, sanitation, food security and local productive development that ensures the well-being of the population and local and regional economies. The lucrative agribusiness and mining business cannot continue to put the country in greater water vulnerability, but to adjust, adapting to climate change.

For more information please visit:

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¿Temuco sin agua en 2025? (El Austral)

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Professors Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini and Ivo Fustos of the Department of Civil Engineering at the Universidad de La Frontera expressed their opinion on the news published on September 1, 2019 in the newspaper and then reproduced by the newspaper .

The academics expressed that, given the amount of information currently available on the water situation in the region, it is impossible to predict with an adequate level of confidence the date on which Temuco will run out of water, if that happens at some point.

You can read the complete answer in the on September 5.

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Carretera hídrica: una falsa panacea (El Mostrador)

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

These “solutions” to the problem of water supply, only serve to strengthen the close relationship between the State and companies that has existed in the field of water, ensuring private legal and functional ownership of an increasingly scarce resource . At the same time, this type of project shows that our country is increasingly moving away from integrated watershed management. The latter are the essential territorial references for the management of the water resource that should guide the preservation of life and society.

For more information please visit:

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10 mil animales han muerto en las regiones más golpeadas por la prolongada sequía (El Mercurio)

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Due to the extended drought affecting central Chile, farmers in the area between the Coquimbo and Maule regions estimate that 10 000 animals have already died, including abortions that occur due to lack of food and water (5 000 in Valparaíso; 2 thousand in Coquimbo, and another 3 thousand in O’Higgins and el Maule).

For more information please visit:

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Maipo, Limarí y Maule, tres cuencas en que el cambio climático ya hizo estragos (La Tercera)

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

An investigation by the PUC Global Change Center, an institution with more than 10 years studying this climatic phenomenon, recorded how the temperature in these areas has already changed due to global warming.

For more information please visit:

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La guerra del agua: las graves secuelas de la crisis hídrica en Chile (El Mostrador)

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Central and Southern Chile have already suffered, for decades, a tendency to lower rainfall amounts, up to 7% per decade at some points, which will probably remain. By 2050, water available in Chile will be reduced by one third in some regions, according to current models, which will extend the irrigation periods that are applied today and reduce more water-intensive crops, especially those without access to technological improvements.

For more information please visit:

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Anomalies of monthly mean temperature compared to the 1961-1990 averages

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

A very impressive figure showing the

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June 2019 was hottest on record for the globe

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The average global temperature in June was 1.71ºF above the 20th-century average of 59.9ºF, making it the hottest June in the 140-year record, according scientists to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Nine of the 10 hottest Junes have occurred since 2010. Last month also was the 43rd consecutive June and 414th consecutive month with above-average global temperatures.

For more information please visit the website:

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44% of water scarcity in Chile is due to poor water management (La Tercera)

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The National Water Balance, a document from the National Water Directorate (DGA) that this year will have its final version after 32 years, will establish how much water is available in the country. In an advance delivered at the beginning of the year, it has already established that the country has a water deficit that ranges between 10% and 37%.

To alleviate this deficit, the document “Transición Hídrica: el futuro del agua en Chile” proposes to establish a strategy with emphasis on four axes: water management and institutionality; conservation and protection of water ecosystems; efficiency and strategic use of water resources; and migration and incorporation of new water sources.

The implementation of these four measures would be key to achieving water security: “44% of the causes of water problems are related to poor management of the resource, 17% is due to the increase in demand for water, 14% to water pollution, 12% to the decrease in water supply , 6% to environmental damage of water ecosystems and 5% to the increase in the frequency of natural disasters” (Ulrike Broschek, leader of Escenarios Hídricos 2030 and Deputy Manager of Sustainability of Fundación Chile)

For more information please visit: y

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Agua: ¿ soluciones sostenibles? (Diario Austral)

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Columna titulada , con ocasión del Día Mundial del Agua: .

Además:

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Agua y desarrollo sostenible (CodexVerde)

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Columna titulada , con ocasión del Día Mundial del Agua: .

Además:

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The dramatic disappearance of water in Chile (La Tercera)

Thu, 21 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

A team of specialists from the Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica is working on updating the National Water Balance, which dates back to 1987. During 2019, the final report will be issued.

The project is led by Ximena Vargas, academic from the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the University of Chile. “What has been found in stations measuring precipitation and temperature is that, in general, there are decreases in average annual precipitation and increases in average annual temperature” This, she explains, has generated a decrease in the water availability in some coastal sectors. “Comparing the reported values for water availability (dating from 1987), changes in average annual runoff are around 10% and 37%” she points out.

For more information please visit:

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2018 was the fourth-hottest year on record

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

2018 was the fourth hottest year on record, according to two independent reports released today (Feb. 6) by and the . Last year was so hot that global land- and ocean-surface temperatures were 1.42 degrees Fahrenheit (0.79 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average, NOAA reported. Since 1880, when record-keeping began, only three years - 2016 (the highest, in part because of El Niño), 2015 and 2017 — were hotter.

“The key message is that ,” Gavin Schmidt, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, told reporters at a news conference. “And our understanding of why those trends are occurring is also very robust. It’s because of the greenhouse gases that we[’ve] put into the atmosphere over the last 100 years.”

The trend isn’t a new one. Nine of the 10 warmest winters have happened since 2005, and five of the warmest years on record happened within the last five years, or from 2014 to 2018.

For more information please visit:

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Conference: When, where, and how much did it rain?

Tue, 22 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Conference: When, where, and how much did it rain?

On January 22th 2019, Dr Hylke Beck gave an entitled “When, where, and how much did it rain?” at the Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias of the Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) in Temuco. In this presentation Dr. Beck presented , the first fully global precipitation dataset with a 0.1º resolution derived by optimally merging a range of gauge, satellite, and reanalysis estimates.

Dr Hylke Beck (BSc, MSc, PhD) is an experienced researcher specializing in earth observation, hydrological modeling, and flood and drought forecasting. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious international journals, including Nature Climate Change and Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, and collaborated with several world-renowned scientists in the fields of hydrology and meteorology. At Princeton University, where he is currently employed, he is developing a global flood and drought warning system with unprecedented accuracy and resolution. He has produced multiple innovative climate data products, including the groundbreaking Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) product, which has already been used by 500+ institutions worldwide.

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Visiting period at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Sat, 22 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In August 2018 I got an invitation from the co-chair of the to conduct a two-week (18-Sep to 01-Oct 2018) visiting period at the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( ). This internship was carried out (and funded) by Ziad S. Haddad (Assistant Section Manager, Radar JPL Science and Engineering Section), to discuss a comprehensive evaluation of current rainfall products of global scale, to allow scientists and users of the international community to make objective evaluations and make informed decisions about the use of these products.

During this period, ziad and I attended a meeting at the at the , in order to discuss the methodology and time period to be used for the comprehensive evaluation of current rainfall products of global scale. In this opportunity I met Soroosh Sorooshian, Efi Foufoula-Georgiou and most of their team at UCL. This was an excellent opportunity to know all the people behind the excellent work producing the PERSIANN family of satellite precipititation estimates.

This internship ended with the publication of an Scopus in the proceedings of the International Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers ( ).

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Article on satellite-based rainfall estimates over Latin America accepted for publication in Atmospheric Research

Mon, 21 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The article was accepted for publication in the journal.

This work exhaustively evaluate six satellite rainfall estimates (TRMM 3B42v7, TRMM 3B42RT, CHIRPSv2, CMORPHv1, PERSIANN-CDR, and MSWEPv2) over three basins in Latin-America (Imperial in Chile, Paraiba do Sul in Brazil, and Magdalena in Colombia). Several continuous and categorical indices of performance are used at daily, monthly and seasonal time scales. Our analysis revealed which products are in beter agreement with ground-based observations of precipitation and if the upscaling procedure, used in CHIRPSv2 and MSWEPv2, affects the evaluation of the SREs performance at different time scales.

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Fondecyt Regular 1171560 selected in 2017 competition !

Tue, 07 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The proyect 1171560 entitled “Assessing spatio-temporal impacts of global change on water and biomass production processes at catchment scale: a synergistic approach based on remote sensing and coupled hydrological models to improve sustainable management of forest ecosystems” was in the 2017 Chilean competition for “Fondecyt Regular” proyects.

This proposal is a collaborative effort born completly within the FONDAP, where the principal investigator (PI) Mauricio Galleguillos and me (Co-PI) are working. This proyect started as a truly interdisciplinary idea, and a research visit of the PI to Temuco was the perfect ocassion to discuss about the main research question, methodology and expected outcomes.

The recent fires that are affecting Chile since January 2017, are important evidence that the outcomes of this project might have important societal impacts.

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Article on satellite-based rainfall estimates over Chile accepted for publication in HESS

Mon, 30 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The article was accepted yesterday (January 30th, 2017) for publication in the journal (HESS).

This work exhaustively evaluate -for the first time- the suitability of seven state-of-the-art satellite-based rainfall estimates (SRE) over the complex topography and diverse climatic gradients of Chile. Several indices of performance are used for different time scales and elevation zones. Our analysis revealed which products are in best with ground based observations of precipitation and which indices of performance suitable to capture mismatches in shape, magnitude, variability and intensity of precipitation.

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2016: Hottest Year on Record

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 0.99 degrees Celsius (1.78 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures. Since the start of the 21st century, the annual global temperature record has been broken five times (2005, 2010, 2014, 2015, and 2016) .

Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year - from January through September, with the exception of June - were the warmest on record for those respective months. October, November, and December of 2016 were the second warmest of those months on record - in all three cases, behind records set in 2015

The warming was truly global. “Some part of every continent, and some part of every major ocean basin was warmest on record” Arndt says, adding that in the United States, only Georgia and Alaska had record-setting warmth but “pretty much the entire country was above normal, and well above normal.”

“The long-term warming is driven almost entirely by greenhouse gases” Arndt says. “We’ve seen a warming trend related to greenhouse gases for four, five, six decades now”. .

Two graphs that shows the time evolution of globally-averaged temperatues are:

For more information please visit:

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Drought in Puyehue and Rupanco lakes (SoyChile.cl)

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

After revealed the worrying decline in the water levels of Llanquihue Lake in the surrounding of Puerto Octay, it was found that is not the only lake basin of the region affected by the lack of rainfall that experts have attributed to climate change.

This is because now the Rupanco and Puyehue lakes in the province of Osorno, have also shown and alarming and disturbing situation. In the first case, locals say that in some sectors the beach has increased from 20 to 200 meters, and in areas normally covered by water can now move on foot or by vehicle.

A similar situation occurs in the Rupanco, where residents also confirm that there is an obvious decline in its water levels, exposing larger portions of land. *This is the year where I’ve seen the worst shortage of water in the lake. It has fallen very little rain. Luckily our pastures are still green, but the lake has suffered," said a local farmer.

For more information please visit:

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Expected changes in precipitation and temperature by 2050 (La Tercera)

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

A recent study, delivered in July 2016, projected that by 2050 Santiago will have the most extreme variation in temperature of all regional capitals, with 2.7°C, which is 14% higher compared to today. In winter, the increase will be 1.7%, representing an increase of 19%, while precipitation will be reduced by 55 millimeters (mm), 15% less.

In other regional capitals, as Arica and Copiapó, extreme temperatures rise about 2.2°C are also expected for each summer, but it will be Arica where the temperature will rise more in winter, with 2.5° C.

For more information please visit:

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Megadrought expands to southern Chile (La Tercera)

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Today the country is experiencing one of the longest and most geographically extensive droughts in its history, which has nearly eight years in some sectors, and extends from the Coquimbo to the La Araucania region. Experts estimate that in the future these cycles would increase. According to an analysis by the Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2) in 2015, these mega-droughts will become more common, occurring in Chile every 20 years by 2050 if emissions continue to increase greenhouse gases.

To date, 17 of the 22 stations of the Meteorological Direction of Chile (DMC) present below normal precipitation amounts. Coyhaique (45ºS) is the one with the most extreme situation. There, the precipitation is around 220 mm, far from normal to date according to the climatological period 1981-2010, which is 884.5 mm, resulting in a deficit of 75%. The level of rainfall is the lowest registration for the area (starting in 1960), although it is projected that in the next three months rains occur within the normal range indicates Catalina Cortes, meteorologist at DMC. However, it should end the year in deficit.

For more information please visit:

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July 2016 was world's hottest month since records began, says Nasa (The Guardian)

Sat, 20 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Nasa’s results, which combine sea-surface temperature and air temperature on land, show July 2016 was 10th month in a row to break monthly temperature record

As the string of hottest months continues, 2016 is virtually certain to be the hottest year on record, says David Karoly, a climate scientist from the University of Melbourne.

Last month was the hottest month in recorded history, beating the record set just 12 months before and continuing the long string of monthly records, according to the latest Nasa data.

The past nine months have set temperature records for their respective months and the trend continued this month to make 10 in a row, according to Nasa. July broke the absolute record for hottest month since records began in 1880.

Similar data from the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said the past 14 months have broken the temperature record for each month, but it hasn’t released its figures for July yet.

For more information please visit:

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El año 2015 batió récords de fenómenos climáticos extremos (El Mercurio)

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

El año 2015 marcó una temporada de lluvias más abundantes que el promedio, provocando graves inundaciones. Severas sequías afectaron superficies casi dos veces mayores en 2015 que en el año anterior (14%, contra 8% en 2014).

Las aguas más calientes agravaron la propagación de algas, que afectaron el 2015 una importante región del Pacífico norte, desde California hasta la Columbia Británica, en Canadá.

Calor y lluvias

En el caso sudamericano, El Niño influyó en las condiciones climáticas durante todo el 2015. La temperatura del aire aumentó por sobre el promedio en la mayor parte del continente, lo que generó condiciones más secas que el promedio en el norte y más húmedas en el sur, especialmente Chile y Argentina.

No obstante, se presentó un otoño e invierno más calurosos de lo habitual. En Argentina fue el invierno más caliente desde que se tienen registros, con un aumento de la media por sobre los 3ºC. En contraste, un aumento de los sistemas frontales y de la nubosidad produjo en Chile y, particularmente, en Argentina el más frío octubre desde que se tienen registros.

En marzo 2015, una anormal lluvia sorprendió a las secas regiones de Atacama y Antofagasta. En esta última ciudad, entre el 25 y el 26 de ese mes cayeron 24,4 milímetros de agua, cuando el promedio anual es de 1,7. En agosto y diciembre, las precipitaciones intensas se presentaron en Argentina y Paraguay, generando inundaciones.

For more information please visit the website:

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2015 was the warmest year ever recorded on Earth (NASA-NOAA)

Mon, 01 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000

2015 was the warmest year ever recorded on Earth, and it was not even close.

On January 20, 2016, scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released their analyses of surface temperatures for the past year. The NASA team found that globally averaged temperatures from January through December 2015 were 0.87 degrees Celsius above the norm (defined as a 1951-1980 base period). The previous record—set last year—was 0.74°C above the norm. For the planet, 2015 was more than a full degree Celsius warmer than temperatures in 1880, when consistent record-keeping began. Working independently, NOAA researchers found 2015 to be 0.90°C above the 1901-2000 average. According to their analysis, 2015 was the second warmest year on record for the continental United States, Africa, and Europe. It was the warmest year for Asia and South America. Globally, new monthly temperature records were set in every month except January and April.

The 2015 temperature record continues a long-term warming trend that has largely been driven by increased carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that humans have emitted into the atmosphere. Most of the warming has occurred in the past 35 years, with 15 of the 16 warmest years on record occurring since 2001.

ENSO

Note that while El Niño conditions dominated the Pacific Ocean for most of 2015, it was not officially an El Niño year in strict climatological terms because ocean conditions did not manifest themselves until April 2015. In the past, the highest global temperature records were often set in El Niño years, which suggests that 2016—with El Niño going strong as of mid-January—appears likely to be another very warm year.

2015 was remarkable even in the context of the ongoing El Niño said NASA GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. Last year’s temperatures had an assist from El Niño, but it is the cumulative effect of the long-term trend that has resulted in the record warming that we are seeing. Climate change is the challenge of our generation”, said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Today’s announcement not only underscores how critical NASA’s Earth observation program is, it is a key data point that should make policymakers stand up and take notice. Now is the time to act on climate.

For more information please visit the website:

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🎉 Easily create your own simple yet highly customizable blog

Sat, 27 Oct 1900 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome 👋

Table of Contents

Overview

The Hugo Blox website builder for Hugo, along with its starter templates, is designed for professional creators, educators, and teams/organizations - although it can be used to create any kind of site
The template can be modified and customised to suit your needs. It’s a good platform for anyone looking to take control of their data and online identity whilst having the convenience to start off with a no-code solution (write in Markdown and customize with YAML parameters) and having flexibility to later add even deeper personalization with HTML and CSS
You can work with all your favourite tools and apps with hundreds of plugins and integrations to speed up your workflows, interact with your readers, and much more

Get Started

Quick Start Guide

New to Hugo Blox? Follow these steps to get your site up and running in minutes!

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Important

Remember to backup your site before making major updates!

Crowd-funded open-source software

To help us develop this template and software sustainably under the MIT license, we ask all individuals and businesses that use it to help support its ongoing maintenance and development via sponsorship.

As a token of appreciation for sponsoring, you can unlock awesome rewards and extra features 🦄✨

Ecosystem

: Automatically import publications from BibTeX

Inspiration

are building with this template.

Features

Enhanced Markdown Support

Hugo Blox now supports GitHub and Obsidian-style callouts! Use standard Markdown alert syntax like > [!NOTE] for better portability.

Page builder - Create anything with no-code and
Edit any type of content - Blog posts, publications, talks, slides, projects, and more!
Create content in , , or
Plugin System - Fully customizable
Display Code and Math - Code syntax highlighting and LaTeX math supported
Integrations - , , Maps, Contact Forms, and more!
Beautiful Site - Simple and refreshing one-page design
Industry-Leading SEO - Help get your website found on search engines and social media
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Mobile Friendly - Look amazing on every screen with a mobile friendly version of your site
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Multi-user - Each author gets their own profile page
Privacy Pack - Assists with GDPR
Stand Out - Bring your site to life with animation, parallax backgrounds, and scroll effects
One-Click Deployment - No servers. No databases. Only files.

Version Requirements

The new Markdown alert syntax requires Hugo v0.132.0 or later. Make sure you’re using a compatible version!

Themes

Hugo Blox and its templates come with automatic day (light) and night (dark) mode built-in. Visitors can choose their preferred mode by clicking the sun/moon icon in the header.

for your site. Themes are fully customizable.

License

Released under the license.

🧠 Sharpen your thinking with a second brain

Fri, 26 Oct 1900 00:00:00 +0000

Create a personal knowledge base and share your knowledge with your peers.

Hugo Blox web framework empowers you with one of the most flexible note-taking capabilities out there.

Create a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.

Use it as your second brain, either publicly sharing your knowledge with your peers via your website, or via a private GitHub repository and password-protected site just for yourself.

Mindmaps

Hugo Blox supports a Markdown extension for mindmaps.

With this open format, can even edit your mindmaps in other popular tools such as Obsidian.

Simply insert a Markdown code block labelled as markmap and optionally set the height of the mindmap as shown in the example below.

Mindmaps can be created by simply writing the items as a Markdown list within the markmap code block, indenting each item to create as many sub-levels as you need:


```markmap {height="200px"}
- Hugo Modules
  - Hugo Blox
  - netlify
  - netlify-cms
  - slides
```

renders as

- Hugo Modules
  - Hugo Blox
  - netlify
  - netlify-cms
  - slides

Anh here’s a more advanced mindmap with formatting, code blocks, and math:


```markmap
- Mindmaps
  - Links
    - [Hugo Blox Docs](https://docs.hugoblox.com/)
    - [Discord Community](https://discord.gg/z8wNYzb)
    - [GitHub](https://github.com/HugoBlox/kit)
  - Features
    - Markdown formatting
    - **inline** ~~text~~ *styles*
    - multiline
      text
    - `inline code`
    - Math: $x = {-b \pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac} \over 2a}$
```

renders as

- Mindmaps
  - Links
    - [Hugo Blox Docs](https://docs.hugoblox.com/)
    - [Discord Community](https://discord.gg/z8wNYzb)
    - [GitHub](https://github.com/HugoBlox/kit)
  - Features
    - Markdown formatting
    - **inline** ~~text~~ *styles*
    - multiline
      text
    - `inline code`
    - Math: $x = {-b \pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac} \over 2a}$

Highlighting

Highlight important text with mark:

<mark>Highlighted text</mark>

Callouts

Use (aka asides, hints, or alerts) to draw attention to notes, tips, and warnings.

Use the > [!NOTE] syntax to create a callout.

> [!NOTE]
> A Markdown aside is useful for displaying notices, hints, or definitions to your readers.

renders as

Note

A Markdown aside is useful for displaying notices, hints, or definitions to your readers.

Or use the warning callout type so your readers don’t miss critical details:

Warning

A Markdown aside is useful for displaying notices, hints, or definitions to your readers.

📈 Communicate your results effectively with the best data visualizations

Thu, 25 Oct 1900 00:00:00 +0000

Hugo Blox is designed to give technical content creators a seamless experience. You can focus on the content and Hugo Blox handles the rest.

Use popular tools such as Plotly, Mermaid, and data frames.

Embed Rich Content

HuggingFace Model

google/embeddinggemma-300m

sentence-similarity

1.359748M

1.465k

HuggingFace Dataset

fka/prompts.chat

dataset

a.k.a. Awesome ChatGPT Prompts This is a Dataset Repository mirror of prompts.chat — a social platform for AI prompts. 📢 Notice This Hugging Face dataset is a mirror. For the …

17.445k

9.586k

GitHub Repository

kit

by HugoBlox • HTML

⚡ The Open Research Copilot. Build high-perf Portfolios, Lab Sites & Docs in Markdown + Jupyter. 100% Data Control. 🦫 数据科学家的开源 Copilot。一键部署 👇

git-fork2.951k

10.024k

academic blog blog-engine +17

Custom embed with manual data

My Custom Resource

example.com

A great resource for learning

Custom Images

Embed beautiful images from any source with Hugo image processing (Unsplash, custom URLs, etc.):

Data Visualization Guide

example.com

Beautiful data visualization workspace

You can also add images to any platform embed:

plotly.py

by plotly • Python

The interactive graphing library for Python ✨

git-fork2.775k

780

18.254k

d3 dashboard declarative +11

Charts

Hugo Blox supports the popular format for interactive data visualizations. With Plotly, you can design almost any kind of visualization you can imagine!

Save your Plotly JSON in your page folder, for example line-chart.json, and then add the {{< chart data="line-chart" >}} shortcode where you would like the chart to appear.

Demo:

You might also find the useful.

Diagrams

Hugo Blox supports the Mermaid Markdown extension for diagrams.

An example flowchart:

```mermaid
graph TD
A[Hard] -->|Text| B(Round)
B --> C{Decision}
C -->|One| D[Result 1]
C -->|Two| E[Result 2]
```

renders as

graph TD A[Hard] -->|Text| B(Round) B --> C{Decision} C -->|One| D[Result 1] C -->|Two| E[Result 2]

An example sequence diagram:

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>John: Hello John, how are you?
loop Healthcheck
    John->>John: Fight against hypochondria
end
Note right of John: Rational thoughts!
John-->>Alice: Great!
John->>Bob: How about you?
Bob-->>John: Jolly good!
```

renders as

sequenceDiagram Alice->>John: Hello John, how are you? loop Healthcheck John->>John: Fight against hypochondria end Note right of John: Rational thoughts! John-->>Alice: Great! John->>Bob: How about you? Bob-->>John: Jolly good!

An example class diagram:

```mermaid
classDiagram
Class01 <|-- AveryLongClass : Cool
Class03 *-- Class04
Class05 o-- Class06
Class07 .. Class08
Class09 --> C2 : Where am i?
Class09 --* C3
Class09 --|> Class07
Class07 : equals()
Class07 : Object[] elementData
Class01 : size()
Class01 : int chimp
Class01 : int gorilla
Class08 <--> C2: Cool label
```

renders as

classDiagram Class01 <|-- AveryLongClass : Cool Class03 *-- Class04 Class05 o-- Class06 Class07 .. Class08 Class09 --> C2 : Where am i? Class09 --* C3 Class09 --|> Class07 Class07 : equals() Class07 : Object[] elementData Class01 : size() Class01 : int chimp Class01 : int gorilla Class08 <--> C2: Cool label

An example state diagram:

```mermaid
stateDiagram
[*] --> Still
Still --> [*]
Still --> Moving
Moving --> Still
Moving --> Crash
Crash --> [*]
```

renders as

stateDiagram [*] --> Still Still --> [*] Still --> Moving Moving --> Still Moving --> Crash Crash --> [*]

Data Frames

Save your spreadsheet as a CSV file in your page’s folder and then render it by adding the Table shortcode to your page:

{{< table path="results.csv" header="true" caption="Table 1: My results" >}}

renders as

Table 1: My results
customer_id	score
1	0
2	0.5
3	1

Interactive Buttons

Add engaging call-to-action buttons to your data visualization posts:

Basic Buttons

Learn Plotly

{{< button url="/" >}}Contact Us{{< /button >}}

{{< button url="https://plotly.com/python/" new_tab="true" style="secondary" >}}Learn Plotly{{< /button >}}

Styled Buttons for Data Actions

View Dashboard

Download Data

View Source Code

{{< button url="#" style="primary" size="lg" align="center" icon="chart-bar" >}}View Dashboard{{< /button >}}

{{< button url="/data/results.csv" style="outline" icon="document-arrow-down" >}}Download Data{{< /button >}}

{{< button url="https://github.com/HugoBlox" new_tab="true" style="ghost" icon="arrow-top-right-on-square" icon_position="right" >}}View Source Code{{< /button >}}

Multiple Aligned Buttons

Try Jupyter

Open in Colab

{{< button url="https://jupyter.org/" new_tab="true" style="secondary" rounded="full" align="center" >}}Try Jupyter{{< /button >}}

{{< button url="https://colab.research.google.com/" new_tab="true" style="primary" rounded="full" align="center" icon="rocket-launch" >}}Open in Colab{{< /button >}}

👩🏼‍🏫 Teach academic courses

Wed, 24 Oct 1900 00:00:00 +0000

is designed to give technical content creators a seamless experience. You can focus on the content and the HugoBlox Kit which this template is built upon handles the rest.

Embed videos, podcasts, code, LaTeX math, and even test students!

On this page, you’ll find some examples of the types of technical content that can be rendered with Hugo Blox.

Citation

Here’s an example of citing a publication using the cite shortcode:

You can also use the default view by omitting the view parameter:

Video

Teach your course by sharing videos with your students. Choose from one of the following approaches:

Youtube:

{{< youtube D2vj0WcvH5c >}}

Bilibili:

{{< bilibili BV1WV4y1r7DF >}}

Video file

Videos may be added to a page by either placing them in your assets/media/ media library or in your , and then embedding them with the video shortcode:

{{< video src="my_video.mp4" controls="yes" >}}

Podcast

You can add a podcast or music to a page by placing the MP3 file in the page’s folder or the media library folder and then embedding the audio on your page with the audio shortcode:

{{< audio src="ambient-piano.mp3" >}}

Try it out:

Test students

Provide a simple yet fun self-assessment by revealing the solutions to challenges with the spoiler shortcode:

{{< spoiler text="👉 Click to view the solution" >}}
You found me!
{{< /spoiler >}}

renders as

👉 Click to view the solution

You found me 🎉

Math

HugoBlox Kit supports a Markdown extension for $\LaTeX$ math. Enable math by setting the math: true option in your page’s front matter, or enable math for your entire site by toggling math in your config/_default/params.yaml file:

features:
  math:
    enable: true

To render inline or block math, wrap your LaTeX math with $...$ or $$...$$, respectively.

Example math block:

$$
\gamma_{n} = \frac{ \left | \left (\mathbf x_{n} - \mathbf x_{n-1} \right )^T \left [\nabla F (\mathbf x_{n}) - \nabla F (\mathbf x_{n-1}) \right ] \right |}{\left \|\nabla F(\mathbf{x}_{n}) - \nabla F(\mathbf{x}_{n-1}) \right \|^2}
$$

renders as

$$\gamma_{n} = \frac{ \left | \left (\mathbf x_{n} - \mathbf x_{n-1} \right )^T \left [\nabla F (\mathbf x_{n}) - \nabla F (\mathbf x_{n-1}) \right ] \right |}{\left \|\nabla F(\mathbf{x}_{n}) - \nabla F(\mathbf{x}_{n-1}) \right \|^2}$$

Example inline math $\nabla F(\mathbf{x}_{n})$ renders as $\nabla F(\mathbf{x}_{n})$.

Example multi-line math using the math linebreak (\\):

$$f(k;p_{0}^{*}) = \begin{cases}p_{0}^{*} & \text{if }k=1, \\
1-p_{0}^{*} & \text{if }k=0.\end{cases}$$

renders as

$$ f(k;p_{0}^{*}) = \begin{cases}p_{0}^{*} & \text{if }k=1, \\ 1-p_{0}^{*} & \text{if }k=0.\end{cases} $$

Code

HugoBlox Kit utilises Hugo’s Markdown extension for highlighting code syntax. The code theme can be selected in the config/_default/params.yaml file.

```python
import pandas as pd
data = pd.read_csv("data.csv")
data.head()
```

renders as

import pandas as pd
data = pd.read_csv("data.csv")
data.head()

Inline Images

{{< icon name="python" >}} Python

renders as

python Python

✅ Manage your projects

Tue, 23 Oct 1900 00:00:00 +0000

Easily manage your projects - create ideation mind maps, Gantt charts, todo lists, and more!

Ideation

Hugo Blox supports a Markdown extension for mindmaps.

Simply insert a Markdown code block labelled as markmap and optionally set the height of the mindmap as shown in the example below.

Mindmaps can be created by simply writing the items as a Markdown list within the markmap code block, indenting each item to create as many sub-levels as you need:


```markmap {height="200px"}
- Hugo Modules
  - Hugo Blox
  - netlify
  - netlify-cms
  - slides
```

renders as

- Hugo Modules
  - Hugo Blox
  - netlify
  - netlify-cms
  - slides

Diagrams

Hugo Blox supports the Mermaid Markdown extension for diagrams.

An example Gantt diagram:

```mermaid
gantt
section Section
Completed :done,    des1, 2014-01-06,2014-01-08
Active        :active,  des2, 2014-01-07, 3d
Parallel 1   :         des3, after des1, 1d
Parallel 2   :         des4, after des1, 1d
Parallel 3   :         des5, after des3, 1d
Parallel 4   :         des6, after des4, 1d
```

renders as

gantt section Section Completed :done, des1, 2014-01-06,2014-01-08 Active :active, des2, 2014-01-07, 3d Parallel 1 : des3, after des1, 1d Parallel 2 : des4, after des1, 1d Parallel 3 : des5, after des3, 1d Parallel 4 : des6, after des4, 1d

Todo lists

You can even write your todo lists in Markdown too:

- [x] Write math example
  - [x] Write diagram example
- [ ] Do something else

renders as

Write math example
- Write diagram example
Do something else

⚡️ Turn Jupyter Notebooks into Blog Posts

Sun, 15 Jul 1900 00:00:00 +0000

As a researcher or data scientist, your work often lives in Jupyter Notebooks. But sharing those insights effectively usually means taking screenshots, messy copy-pasting, or exporting to PDF.

Hugo Blox changes that. With the {{< notebook >}} shortcode, you can render your actual .ipynb files directly as beautiful, interactive blog posts or project pages. Keep your code, outputs, and narrative in one place.

Table of Contents

Why publish notebooks?

Tip

Reproducible Research: By publishing the actual notebook, you allow others to download and run your code, verifying your results and building upon your work.

No more screenshots – Render crisp code and vector plots directly from your source.
Theme consistent – Notebooks automatically adapt to your site’s theme (including dark mode).
Flexible sourcing – Display notebooks from your assets/ folder, page bundles, or even directly from a remote GitHub URL.
Interactive – Users can copy code blocks or download the full notebook to run locally.

Example: Data Science Workflow

Below is a live example of a notebook rendered right here in this post. Notice how the markdown, code, and outputs (text, HTML, and JSON) are all preserved and styled.

Launch Readiness Analysis

Python · Kernel: Python 3 · nbformat 4.5 · 6 cells

Download notebook

Language: Python
Version: 3.11
Kernel: Python 3 python3
nbformat: 4.5
Authors: HugoBlox Studio

Markdown

Ship Notebook Stories in Minutes

Hugo Blox Notebook renderer turns your .ipynb experiments into beautiful long-form posts. Use this sample to see how markdown, code, and outputs flow together.

Markdown

Drop notebooks inside assets/notebooks/ (or import them as page resources).
Reference them with {{</* notebook src="your.ipynb" */>}}.
Control code, outputs, metadata badges, and download links via shortcode params.

In [1]

demo quickstart

import math
accuracy = 0.982
print("Collecting data...")
print("Training notebook-ready block...")
print("Done!")
accuracy

Collecting data...
Training notebook-ready block...
Done!

0.982

In [2]

1
2

from IPython.display import HTML
HTML("<div style='font-family:Inter,ui-sans-serif;'><strong>Launch Readiness:</strong> <span style='color:#22c55e;'>98.2% confidence</span><br><em>Notebook blocks are theme-aware and dark-mode friendly.</em></div>")

Launch Readiness: 98.2% confidence
Notebook blocks are theme-aware and dark-mode friendly.

In [3]

metrics

metrics = {
    'metrics': {
        'engagement_rate': 0.73,
        'read_time_minutes': 4.6,
        'subscribers': 1280
    }
}
metrics

{
  "metrics": {
    "engagement_rate": 0.73,
    "read_time_minutes": 4.6,
    "subscribers": 1280
  }
}

Markdown

Tip: Pair this block with Call-to-Action cards or the Embed shortcode to link to GitHub repos, datasets, or ARXIV preprints.

How to add a notebook

Save your notebook. Place your .ipynb file in assets/notebooks/ (for global access) or inside a page bundle (like content/blog/my-post/analysis.ipynb).
Add the shortcode. In any Markdown page, simply use: {{< notebook src="analysis.ipynb" >}}
Customize. You can hide code cells for non-technical audiences (show_code=false) or just show the output (show_outputs=true).

Important

Hugo Blox respects your privacy. Notebook rendering happens statically at build time—no third-party services required.

Next steps

Try it out: Drop one of your existing notebooks into this site and see how it looks.
Link your papers: Use the Embed shortcode to link your notebook to your latest arXiv preprint or GitHub repository.
Get help: Join the community on or check the .

Happy researching! 🚀

Blog | Dr. Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini

The Past 3 Years Have Been the Three Hottest

Statistical Overview and Record Benchmarks

Dynamics of the “warming spike”

Sociopolitical and regional impacts

Future projections

WMO confirms 2024 as warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial level

1. Temperature anomalies and statistical significance

2. The Paris agreement vs. annual spikes

3. Marine thermodynamics and Ocean Heat Content (OHC)

4. Policy implications and future monitoring

Anemometer installation at the Invernada station

Article on hydrological drought monitoring published in HESS

2023 was the warmest year on record, (NOAA)

Hottest July on Record (174 years), (NASA)

Earth just had its hottest June on record (NOAA)

Después de la gran tormenta, ¿cómo rediseñaremos? (El Mostrador)

Article on challenge of unprecedented floods and droughts in risk management published in Nature

Is the megadrought over with the last frontal system? (The Clinic)

Cambio climático alimenta 'mancha' caliente oceánica que causa megasequía en Chile según un estudio (La Tercera)

Article on Water Balancece in the Nile Basin using gridded P and ETa accepted for publication in JoH-RS

Esta es la última víctima del cambio climático en Chile (La Tercera)

Ingreso al Grupo de Evaluación de Ciencias de la Tierra de ANID !

Balance Hídrico Nacional revela dramática situación: proyecta escasez de agua de hasta 50% y alza de temperatura de hasta 2.5°C

Entra en vigencia la nueva Ley de Servicios Sanitarios Rurales

Chi2 project on 'Exploradores 2020' (24horas.cl)

Mawün rainfall explorer launched !

Article on Water Resources Management in the Araucanía region (Chile) accepted for publication in IJWRD

hydroPSO v0.5-0 on CRAN

hydroGOF v0.4-0 on CRAN

hydroTSM v0.6-0 on CRAN

Climate change: Last decade confirmed as warmest on record

Radio Concierto interview on water scarcity

Article on Random Forest for merging satellite-based datasets with gorund observations published in RSE

Special Issue on hydrological processes in LAC published in HP

Article on bias correction of global high-resolution precipitation climatologies published in JoC

Sequia y escasez hídrica en Chile - parecidas pero no iguales (El Mostrador)

Crisis hídrica, sequía legal y carretera hídrica (El Mostrador)

¿Temuco sin agua en 2025? (El Austral)

Carretera hídrica: una falsa panacea (El Mostrador)

10 mil animales han muerto en las regiones más golpeadas por la prolongada sequía (El Mercurio)

Maipo, Limarí y Maule, tres cuencas en que el cambio climático ya hizo estragos (La Tercera)

La guerra del agua: las graves secuelas de la crisis hídrica en Chile (El Mostrador)

Anomalies of monthly mean temperature compared to the 1961-1990 averages

June 2019 was hottest on record for the globe

44% of water scarcity in Chile is due to poor water management (La Tercera)

Agua: ¿ soluciones sostenibles? (Diario Austral)

Agua y desarrollo sostenible (CodexVerde)

The dramatic disappearance of water in Chile (La Tercera)

2018 was the fourth-hottest year on record

Conference: When, where, and how much did it rain?

Visiting period at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Article on satellite-based rainfall estimates over Latin America accepted for publication in Atmospheric Research

Fondecyt Regular 1171560 selected in 2017 competition !

Article on satellite-based rainfall estimates over Chile accepted for publication in HESS

2016: Hottest Year on Record

Drought in Puyehue and Rupanco lakes (SoyChile.cl)

Expected changes in precipitation and temperature by 2050 (La Tercera)

Megadrought expands to southern Chile (La Tercera)

July 2016 was world's hottest month since records began, says Nasa (The Guardian)

El año 2015 batió récords de fenómenos climáticos extremos (El Mercurio)

Calor y lluvias

2015 was the warmest year ever recorded on Earth (NASA-NOAA)

ENSO

🎉 Easily create your own simple yet highly customizable blog

Overview

Get Started

Crowd-funded open-source software

Ecosystem

Inspiration

Features

Themes

License

🧠 Sharpen your thinking with a second brain

Mindmaps

Highlighting

Callouts

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