I wrote this HEPEX blog post in October 2013 to cover a discussion of the same name at the European Meteorological Society annual conference held in Reading. The discussion centred on the question of how to ensure that end-users of forecasts for extreme events were using them effectively, or making the ‘correct’ decisions. I found the discussion about the need for interdisciplinary work on the subject quite interesting:

“The EMS-ECAM meeting was largely a science-focussed event, and it was clear that a ‘social science’ input was missing from the plenary discussion. Additionally, while there were many comments about the need for social science, this ‘need’ remained quite vague and undefined. Perhaps the meteorological and hydrological communities would benefit from both a better understanding and awareness of what social scientists have to offer and, subsequently, from help to better define the questions that need to be answered?”

A video of the panel’s statements is now available online, with another video for the audience’s questions and statements.