Nigel Arnell

Professor Nigel Arnell is a climate scientist based in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, where he specialises in understanding and assessing climate risks in the UK and around the world. His work focuses on how climate change may affect societies, economies, and natural systems – both now and in the future – and on translating complex science into information that can support decision-making.

Nigel has played a leading role in national and international climate assessments. He led a major UK Climate Resilience Programme project examining high-impact, low-likelihood climate scenarios, and helped develop an online resource that provides indicators of future climate risk at local to national scales across the UK. He has also contributed extensively to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), serving as a lead author across multiple assessment reports, and has chaired expert review panels for the UK Climate Change Risk Assessments.

In addition to his academic roles, Nigel has worked closely with government, including holding a fellowship in the UK Cabinet Office focused on climate risk assessment. Within the Climate + Co-Centre, his work centres on developing and applying clear, policy-relevant indicators of climate risk to support effective planning and adaptation.