site.btaMeteorology and Hydrology Institute Keeps Us Updated on Climate and Environmental Changes, Says Minister

Caretaker Environment and Water Minister Julian Popov Tuesday said the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) deals with data and facts, and what it does is extremely important "as it helps us understand what is happening with climate and the environment and enables us to make forecasts". He spoke at the opening of a National Scientific Conference on Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment at NIMH.

The NIMH is a far more important institution than most people in this country realize, said Popov. "Increasingly, the responsibility for addressing the growing risks associated with climate change lies in your hands. I hope that more and more of you already believe in anthropogenic climate change, because we have a long-standing debate with Bulgarian scientists about the role of human activity in climate change," he said.

According to Popov, Bulgarian agriculture would struggle to develop without NIMH scientists. "You may already be the most important source of information for Bulgaria's energy sector, which depends on climate conditions and on NIMH data," he added.

At the opening of the event, Chief Assistant Anastasia Stoycheva, Director of the Institute's Forecasts and Information Services Department, said the aim of the conference is to strengthen cooperation among scientists from research institutions at both national and international level and to encourage young researchers to take an active part in interdisciplinary studies. The forum is a platform for the exchange of ideas and experience, as well as for establishing collaboration among researchers in applied and experimental meteorology, climatology, hydrology and ecology in relation to risk assessment and the forecasting of natural disasters: floods, droughts, thunderstorms, cold and heatwaves, strong winds and air pollution, she said.