In March 2017, Bologna was chosen by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts as the site of its new data centre. Here is how the work is progressing and what this victory means for the Emilian capital and for our country.
Pink light caresses the Dolomites, vineyards tickle the emerald-green hills of the Apennines, turquoise glints of sea shimmer beneath the sun's rays. Italy is a wonderful country, offering visitors a wealth of landscapes. Deforestation and urbanisation have eaten up hectares of land, making the territory fragile — a fragility that expresses itself in rebellion: floods and landslides are proof of that. Yet the desire to rise again and demonstrate the excellence of natural capital, as well as human capital, is equally evident. Excellences that other countries notice and value: the prestigious European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (Ecmwf) has chosen Bologna, the capital of Emilia-Romagna, as the location for its new data centre.
The area earmarked for the project, proposed by the region and supported by the Italian government with 40 million euros, is that of the Tecnopolo, which is rising from the ashes of the former tobacco factory and will transform a previously abandoned site into one of the most innovative scientific and technological hubs on the planet. Ecmwf will have at least 20,000 square metres at its disposal, where one of the largest supercomputers in the world will be installed. Work is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019, so that the data centre can become operational by 2020. At that point, it will be possible to forecast extreme weather events such as cloudbursts and heatwaves far more easily.
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1975, headquartered in Reading in the United Kingdom and supported by 20 member states and 14 cooperating nations. "Every day we analyse 40 million satellite observations from the United States, Europe, China and Japan, and there will be even more," explained Florence Rabier, the director-general, at the first Bologna meeting between the leadership. "When we were founded we could make forecasts up to two days ahead; now we reach 10–15 and we improve every year: it will become increasingly easier to predict extreme events." And, consequently, to protect people, buildings and ecosystems more effectively.
Bologna is deeply committed to climate research and the fight against global warming. It is already home to the National Research Council (Cnr) and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (Cmcc). It is also considered Italy's most resilient city: among the various adaptation and mitigation measures, the municipal administration has reduced losses in the water network and improved drainage systems, and plans the planting of five thousand trees and the consequent increase in biodiversity. Already a point of reference for our country, by 2020 the Emilian capital will serve as a guiding star for the whole of Europe.
