ANNOUNCEMENT OF LECTURE:
Zoran Vakula – On Weather, Climate, and a Few Other Things…

On Thursday, October 23, at 6 p.m., the third season of the popular science series “Science as a Gift” continues at the Poklon Visitor Centre. The second lecture in the new cycle will be delivered by meteorologist and HRT editor Zoran Vakula, who will present an engaging talk titled On Weather, Climate, and a Few Other Things…

Is the band Hladno pivo right when they sing “It’s not all that grey,” or is the situation with our weather and climate even “greyer,” so that TBF is justified in concluding “Oh, there’s no helping us,” while Rundek wonders, “What does the weather do to a person…” And a certain traveller — a modern-day successor to Preradović’s well-known wanderer — might very well look at Earth’s climate and ask once again, “Good Lord, where have I ended up…”

Weather (or lack thereof), forecasts, meteo-alerts, global warming and climate change have been filling the media space for years. Justifiably? Some say “Yes!”, others insist “No!”, and some confidently reply, “Maybe…”

Although meteorology too confirms the saying “Truth is a deep well,” it’s undeniable that unusual weather events — sudden cold snaps, heat waves, hail (both street hail and hail from the sky), gale-force winds and more — existed before. Yet the subjective impression of many, confirmed by objective long-term statistical analyses, is that meteorological extremes are becoming more frequent and more intense. Will this trend continue? Is the climate “shaking”? Is there anything we can do?

The lecture will offer a brief overview of the importance and potential of meteorology, especially forecasting and warnings. It will address climate change and global warming, outline possible scenarios and consequences, and present actions that may help reduce the problem, at least to some extent. Along the way, it will emphasize not just Donne’s “No man is an island, entire of itself,” but also Lorca’s “Green, how I love you green…”

Zoran Vakula (born 1970), a graduate electrical engineer in physics, completed primary school in Pitomača, secondary school in Virovitica, and his studies at the Faculty of Science in Zagreb. After nearly 19 years working simultaneously at the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service and Croatian Radiotelevision, he has, since 2013, worked “only” as an editor and meteorologist at HRT. Meteorology — especially weather forecasting — is both his profession and his passion. He created the HRT METEO smartphone app, unique in the world for its subjective weather forecasts, has written hundreds of science-popular articles, and delivered almost as many lectures in Croatia and abroad. He promotes meteorology through meteograms, meteo-comics, meteo-caricatures, picture books, films, TV series, and lately even theatre productions — and once, even through dance! He is the owner of Naklada Vakula. He is married and the father of a daughter.