The Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR) is a leading institution for climate research, it carries out interdisciplinary research that is at the forefront of climate science. The OCCR brings together researchers from 17 institutes and 5 faculties. It was founded in 2007 and is named after Hans Oeschger (1927-1998), a pioneer of modern climate research.
The OCCR has built up a unique interdisciplinary research environment focusing on climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. At the interface between physics, geography, biology, chemistry, history, economy, political sciences and philosophy, approximately 330 researchers are investigating the effects of these unprecedented changes on humans and ecosystems.
Climate change
Researchers from the OCCR and the ETH Zurich have investigated how climate change influences supercell thunderstorms in Europe. Global warming is likely to cause these destructive storms much more frequently, especially in the Alpine region.
IPCC Report
OCCR member Thomas Frölicher has been appointed as the Coordinating Lead Author for the upcoming IPCC Assessment Report.
Climate warming
An international research group involving the OCCR has discovered that soil microorganisms shift their seasonal rhythm more than plants in response to climate warming.
Paulus Prize
OCCR member Stefan Brönnimann was awarded the Paulus Prize by the German Meteorological Society.
Oeschger Young Scientist’s Prize
Carole Bouverat graduated as the top student of her year at the Graduate School of Climate Sciences and was awarded the 2024 Oeschger Young Scientist's Prize in recognition of her achievement. Today, she works for a globally active consulting firm.
Anton Braun graduated as the second-best student of his year at the Graduate School of Climate Sciences and was honored with the ‘2024 Oeschger Young Scientist’s Prize’.
Academic career
Bettina Schaefli developed an early interest in hydrological modelling and has since built an impressive career.
Social tipping points
Economist and philosopher, Philippe Colo, analyses social tipping points. He says that a project like this is only possible in an interdisciplinary environment such as the Oeschger Centre.
Paper of the month
OCCR member Jens Terhaar is the lead author of the study ‘Atlantic overturning inferred from air-sea heat fluxes indicates no decline since the 1960s’, which was published in Nature Communications. It concludes that ocean circulation in the North Atlantic has not weakened in the last 60 years. These results contradict earlier assumptions.
An OCCR research group has published a study that shows the traces of historical land use in today's landscape. The publication is based on sedimentary data from northern Greece covering the last 9000 years.
A paper co-authored by several OCCR researchers and published in the journal Nature shows how a lawsuit is reshaping the role of agriculture in climate policy.
An interdisciplinary study by various OCCR members addresses the intricate relationships between heat, humidity and health outcomes.
September 2, 2025
until September 4, 2025
University of Bern, Switzerland
Conference
ContaSed 2025
October 30, 2025
09:15 − 16:45
University of Bern, Main Building, Kuppelraum, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
December 4, 2025
University of Bern, Institute of Geography, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Bern; Room 001
Oeschger Colloquium 2025
December 5, 2025
University of Bern, UniS, Schanzeneckstrasse 1, 3012 Bern
Hans Sigrist Symposium 2025
Hochschulstrasse 4 3rd floor WEST 3012 Bern
Phone: +41 31 684 31 45
