GERICS leads the co-development of a regional adaptation platform in Germany

The Climate Adaptation Law in Germany calls on the federal states to actively support counties and municipalities in developing and implementing climate adaptation strategies

Climate adaptation strategies should include risk assessments, tailored action plans, and forward-looking adaptation strategies. Delivering on this requires one essential ingredient: reliable, high-quality, and harmonized data, which must be easy to access and apply – especially for adaptation practitioners in counties and municipalities that may lack the resources to commission complex analyses externally.

Within the RegIKlim (=regional information for climate action) funding measure, GERICS leads the co-development of a comprehensive suite of solutions to bridge this gap. These include (i) scientifically validated high-resolution climate data (3 x 3 km) and climate information, (ii) user-friendly tools for impact analysis, and (iii) practical guidelines supporting users.

All these components will be brought together in one place: the KlimafolgenHub (climate impacts hub) – a centralized platform designed to make climate adaptation planning more accessible, efficient, and actionable. Based on interviews, workshops and a detailed analysis of already existing platforms, the KlimafolgenHub is designed around user needs.

By combining these insights, the KlimafolgenHub delivers a powerful, user-oriented platform with clearly defined features and functionalities. These also constitute the platform’s unique selling point as a key enabler for climate adaptation across Germany.

Key functionalities provided by the KlimafolgenHub:

• Comprehensive download portal providing access to nationwide high-resolution, partially bias-corrected climate model data and climate indices, as well as selected observational data, geospatial data, and socio-demographic data for a user-selected region.
• Concise climate profiles at the district level complement existing offerings.
• Dedicated tools for seamless data processing, enabling the efficient preparation of datasets for impact models and advanced analyses.
• Curated guidance and resources, including both hosted materials and links to existing guidelines, are designed to translate scientific insights into practical adaptation action.
• Flexible and sustainable backend to assure quality and up-to-date maintenance of all provided products and to enable compatibility and cooperation with existing state-level offerings to optimize climate data applications across Germany.

Currently, a prototype of the KlimafolgenHub is being developed to illustrate three key functionalities: high-resolution data, user-oriented tools, and practical guidance materials.

1. High-resolution climate data

At the entry level, the KlimafolgenHub will provide concise, easy-to-understand district-level climate profiles. These profiles are based on the NUKLEUS climate model ensemble – a dedicated climate data set created during the project – and present key information interactively. Users will be able to explore trends in near-surface temperature and total precipitation over the year, as well as projected changes in selected climate indicators and corresponding adaptation measures.

A dedicated download section will offer a centralized access point for various datasets, including climate model outputs, derived indicators, observational data, and geospatial data. By bringing these datasets together in one place, the platform aims to streamline workflows between data analysis and climate adaptation action.

Initially, the prototype will focus on high-resolution, partly bias-corrected NUKLEUS data as the core dataset, complemented by additional geospatial and observational data required for the platform tools and climate profiles. More advanced features, such as customized data downloads for specific regions (e.g., using user-uploaded geographic files), are planned for future development phases.

1. User-oriented tools

The KlimafolgenHub will include a set of tools designed to meet the needs of different user groups, such as planners, decision-makers, and practitioners. These tools aim to make data more actionable and relevant for real-world applications. Potential functionalities include:

• Identification of regions in Germany with similar climate and land-use characteristics. The comparison of similar regions supports knowledge transfer and climate adaptation planning.
• Calculation of climate change factors for extreme value statistics of hourly precipitation events.
• Visualization of selectable climate indicators for a chosen region to illustrate local climate risks.
• Temporal disaggregation of precipitation data down to the sub-hourly scale.
• Processing of hourly atmospheric temperature stratification during an exceptionally warm period and preparation of climate model data for use in urban impact models.
• Integrated visualization of climatological, socio-economic, and land-surface data at the district level to support entry into climate risk analysis

1. Guidelines and manuals

A separate section titled “Guidelines and Manuals” will focus on helping users translate data into practical action. It will provide guidance on interpreting the available data and using the tools effectively.

Additionally, it will include resources for specific applications such as heavy rainfall management and the development of climate adaptation strategies. These materials are intended to support knowledge transfer and promote the upscaling of climate services.

Future challenges

Future work with climate data faces new technical challenges. In addition to traditional climate simulations, new high-resolution “digital twin” models (e.g., Destination Earth) will generate extremely large datasets that cannot simply be stored. Instead, data must be processed in real time as it is produced. This creates difficulties for current applications, such as impact models, which require stable and accessible datasets.

One possible solution is to run impact models directly alongside these simulations, but this is often impractical due to timing and technical constraints. Ongoing projects such as WarmWorld are exploring solutions for which centralized platforms like the KlimafolgenHub will be key for efficient data management.