On 11 October, around 120 early career researchers, senior scientists and editors met at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune for the APARC Early Career Researcher Workshop, “The ECR Nexus: Connecting Voices, Tools, and Science to Society”. The programme included a keynote on artificial intelligence and machine learning in Earth sciences, a panel on career paths within and beyond academia, a “Meet the Editors” session, and a hands-on tutorial on the Earth System Model Evaluation Tool (ESMValTool). Participants also discussed funding, mobility, access to data and computing resources, and how research can connect more closely with society.
The workshop opened the way for the APARC General Assembly 2026, which started on 12 October at IITM Pune and continues until Friday 16 October. This edition brings together more than 550 participants, in person and online, with 67 oral presentations and over 400 posters organised around six scientific themes. Special attention is given to AI and machine learning, atmospheric composition, extreme events and climate prediction from subseasonal to decadal timescales. The General Assembly will be followed by the APARC Scientific Steering Group (SSG) meeting, which will discuss the outcomes and the science strategies moving forward.
