Project partner Meteo on Polish Radio – talking about the Flopres project, flash floods, and the challenges of modern meteorology

Maciej Wrona, CEO of Meteo, took part in a Polish Radio podcast from the “Climate Change” series, dedicated to the growing threat of flash floods.

The discussion focused on sudden flash floods and the possibilities of forecasting them and preventing their impacts. The Flopres project, carried out in cooperation with partners from Slovakia, was also mentioned. “The aim of this project is to develop digital tools supporting the mitigation of the negative impacts of flash floods. The system developed within this project operates in two areas: forecasting and planning. The first uses numerical weather forecasts, radar data, and various types of environmental data to provide relevant end users with advance information on the probability of such events, within a 72-hour horizon and then in a shorter 12-hour window,” explained Maciej Wrona.

During the broadcast, attention was drawn to the changing nature of precipitation. In a warming climate, we are increasingly dealing not so much with higher total rainfall amounts, but with greater intensity and shorter duration. It is these short but very intense rainfall episodes that pose the greatest threat to urban areas. The Flopres tools not only enable early warning but also help prevent the impacts of flash floods. “For this purpose, an expert module has been developed. It is a tool for planners and for those involved in spatial development. This tool makes it possible to run simulations showing how the flood situation will change if hydrological conditions change, if a reservoir is built, or, for example, if trees are cut down on a slope. The system’s algorithms take into account the digital terrain model, land cover, soil type, and more, allowing at least an estimation of parameters such as the speed at which water will move across a given type of slope,” the CEO explained.

Participation in the broadcast provided an opportunity to present the growing problem and ways of addressing it. However, it was emphasized that this requires education, raising awareness, and justifying the use of technologies such as those developed in projects like Flopres. “In the end, this delivers real benefits in the form of a system that integrates data and is capable of addressing a very broad spectrum of needs related to flood protection and planning,” it was concluded.