New impact-sector data released from the Destination Earth Climate Digital Twin
The first impact-sector data generated from the latest simulations of the Destination Earth Climate Change Adaptation Digital Twin (Climate DT) are now available to researchers, experts and decision-makers. The data provides information relevant to climate-sensitive sectors and phenomena, including renewable energy, wildfires, hydrology and extreme precipitation.
The new Climate DT simulations released in May 2026 marked a significant step forward in the production of high-resolution climate information. The first impact-sector data derived from these simulations is now available through the DestinE Platform. It is intended to support research, climate adaptation and evidence-based decision-making across Europe.
The Climate DT, part of the European Commission’s Destination Earth initiative, provides an operational framework for producing global climate information at kilometre-scale resolution. A key feature of the Climate DT is the integration of impact-sector applications directly into its production workflow. This allows climate simulations and sector-specific information to be produced together, at kilometre-scale spatial resolutions and hourly temporal resolutions. The applications process simulation data to produce indicators and information for specific climate-sensitive sectors and phenomena and are co-designed with users working in the relevant areas.
Transforming climate data into sector-specific information
The released datasets cover several climate-sensitive sectors:
- Renewable energy: data provides information on e.g. wind and solar energy potential and heating and cooling demand
- Wildfires: applications deliver information on fire-weather danger metrics and localised fire spread risk
- Hydrology: data provides information on e.g. soil moisture, river discharge, droughts and floods
- Extreme precipitation: application gives information on the intensity, duration and frequency of extreme precipitation events across Europe
The Climate DT is implemented by a broad European partnership led by CSC in close collaboration with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
Producing high-resolution climate simulations requires vast computing power provided by the EuroHPC supercomputing infrastructure. For example, the LUMI supercomputer operated by CSC plays a key role in delivering the computing capacity needed for the Climate DT simulations.
Image: Adobe Stock
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Destination Earth – building a digital twin of the Earth
- Destination Earth (DestinE) is a flagship initiative of the European Commission aimed at developing a highly accurate digital replica of the Earth.
- The initiative is implemented by the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and EUMETSAT, together with more than 100 public and private partners across Europe.
- Climate DT is one of the digital twins developed under Destination Earth. It is implemented under a contract procured by ECMWF through a broad European collaboration led by CSC.
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Jenni Kontkanen
PhD, Docent Jenni Kontkanen leads the Digital Twins group at CSC.
