The Small Earth Nepal (SEN) successfully concluded a four-day training on “Climate Data Analysis and Visualization” in Surkhet, Nepal from June 5 to 8, 2025, as a part of the project – Promoting CLimAte ReSilient and Socially Inclusive Water Management in the Lower Karnali Watershed Region, Nepal (CLASSIK). IHE Delft, The Netherlands, Central Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University (CDGL-TU), Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (KIRDARC) and Tharu Women Upliftment Center (TWUC), Bardiya are the partners of the project. Mid-West University, Surkhet and Madhuwan Municipality and Geruwa Rural Municipalities collaborated in organizing this training.
The training brought together 29 participants (F:9 M:20) including graduate students, early career researchers, and practitioners from the Karnali region representing diverse fields such as environment, hydrology, meteorology, forestry, agriculture, water management, and engineering.
The training equipped participants with the practical, hands-on skills to access, process, analyze, and visualize climate data using tools like Climate Data Operators (CDO) and Python, working primarily with climate datasets such as ERA5. The training began with the foundational sessions highlighting the importance of climate data analysis across various fields, exploring different types of climate data, and their applications. Participants learned to source climate data from various platforms and preprocess the acquired datasets using CDO. They developed essential Python scripting skills for handling large datasets, and applied these skills to analyze the pre-processed data.
A key component of the training was the hands-on analysis of Nepal’s precipitation data, where participants calculated trends, visualized precipitation patterns, and identified anomalies. In groups they carried out mini-project involving data acquisition, analysis and presented their results and outputs and received feedback from trainers and peers.
Through collaborative group work, the training helped build participant’s confidence, while also encouraging them to apply these skills in their own research and academic projects in the near future. Beyond delivering knowledge and skills for climate data analysis, the program built a network of like-minded cohorts of climate data enthusiasts. Through this training, SEN was able to develop local capacity in the Karnali region in climate data analysis for the benefit of the region.
