Reunion is one of the 69 European territories supported by the Horizon Europe program as part of the Climaax project, which provides funding and technical solutions for a territorialized diagnosis of risks linked to climate change.
Initiated in October 2024 for a period of 22 months, the RISC-RA project (Reunion Island’s Climate Risk Atlas) was piloted by the Region, who presented a first assessment at the end of August.
It made it possible to produce risk maps and indicators, particularly those linked to torrential floods and droughts.
The results on drought constitute the most successful part of the project and the data can be directly used to objectify water management., estimates the Region. In the study of the risks linked to torrential floods, a technical constraint appeared : more than 60% of extreme rain events on the island are generated by tropical cyclones. However, these phenomena remain difficult to model in the climate simulations provided by Météo France.. In order to remove this obstacle, Scientific exchanges have been initiated with a Catalan university hydrology laboratory and will need to be continued. The project will also have served as a test bed for the foreshadowing of the Regional Group of Experts on Climate (GREEK-Reunion), building bridges between scientific research and public decision-making. In order to maintain the dynamic engaged, the Réunion Region has decided to extend the project for a period of 12 months, on own funds.
