UN Ocean Decade TFRiN Project 2025 Qingdao Workshop Successfully Convened

On December 11, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development project on Typhoon Forecast and Response in the Northwest Pacific (TFRiN) 2025 Qingdao Workshop, hosted by FIO, was successfully convened in Qingdao, China. Experts and scholars from 11 research institutes, universities, and related organizations from China, Japan and South Korea attended the workshop, engaging in in-depth exchanges on topics such as typhoon observation and forecasting, policy research on marine disaster response, and marine disaster education.

At the opening ceremony, WEI Zexun, Secretary of the CPC FIO Committee and Deputy Director General of FIO, delivered a welcome address. Mitsutaku Makino, President of the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Japan, was invited and delivered a speech. During the meeting, QIAO Fangli, Deputy Director General of FIO, and DONG Chao, Deputy Director of the South China Sea Marine Survey Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, presented keynote reports on the latest advancements in the third-generation atmosphere-ocean-wave coupled typhoon model and its broad application prospects in typhoon monitoring and prediction, as well as on intelligent marine observation equipment. WANG Shizhu and XU Tengfei from FIO introduced the implementation progress and future plans of the United Nations "Ocean Decade" Ocean to Climate Seamless Forecasting System (OSF) programme and the TFRiN project, respectively.

The workshop also featured specialized sessions on "Typhoon Observation and Prediction" and "Policy and Practices in Response to Marine Disaster." The "Typhoon Observation and Prediction" session focused on cutting-edge issues such as the impact of warming in the Northwest Pacific on typhoon formation and intensification, development of autonomous sailing vehicle and its applications in typhoon crossing missions, and the relationship between subsurface ocean variability and tropical cyclone genesis. The Shanghai Typhoon Institute of the China Meteorological Administration also shared their latest research findings, collectively showcasing the most recent developments in the field. The "Policy and Practice in Response to Marine Disaster" session brought together experiences from China and Japan, facilitating exchanges on practices in disaster prevention and mitigation education, adaptation strategies for typhoon impacts, the governance system in response to natural disasters in China, and pathways for marine spatial planning in the Western Pacific, providing diverse solutions and insights for regional disaster governance.

The TFRiN project, led by FIO in collaboration with OPRI, the China Institute for Marne Affairs of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Shanghai Typhoon Institute of the China Meteorological Administration, was endorsed by the United Nations "Ocean Decade" in June 2024, focusing on regional typhoon disaster response. The convening of this workshop further deepened practical cooperation among China, Japan, and South Korea in the fields of typhoon research and disaster response in the Northwest Pacific.

Group photo