Chief DWD Jones: Committed to science

sSarah Jones is a scientist. I noticed it right away at the age of fifty-eight. The new head of the German Weather Service (DWD) speaks softly and calmly about weather, forecasts, climate and the challenges she faces as the country’s chief meteorologist. The Briton, who now also holds German citizenship, was the first woman to hold the position at the beginning of August – but this fact merits only a brief comment for her: “As a woman, I may approach certain situations differently. However, the decisive factor must be To have a competency that I bring with me in the field of meteorology and climatology.

Like her predecessor Gerhard Adrian, who retired after 13 years at the helm of the Offenbach-based federal agency and its 2,200 employees, Jones is someone shaped by science, crafting carefully and always sticking to the facts. Like her predecessor, Jones had been a member of the R&D board since 2011 before she was named President of DWD – succeeding Adrian. This personal continuity is also reflected in her assignments: her area of ​​work as Head of Research has included improving weather forecasts and climate and environmental analyses for DWD – topics also high on her agenda. In their view, meteorologists must continually improve the “tools” available to them for weather and climate forecasts. This explicitly includes the use of artificial intelligence.