News Releases

UWI and CCRIF Launch Fellowship to Drive Caribbean Leadership in Climate Attribution Science

For Release Upon Receipt - December 19, 2025

UWI


The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica, W.I., Friday, December 19, 2025—The University of the West Indies (The UWI), through its Climate Studies Group Mona (CSGM), has partnered with CCRIF SPC to establish a pioneering postdoctoral fellowship in detection and attribution (D&A) science. Valued at US$50,000, this is CCRIF’s first direct grant to support postdoctoral research, advancing regional expertise in tropical cyclone modelling and climate change attribution. 

 The fellowship has been awarded to Dr Jhordanne Jones, a UWI graduate, NOAA Climate and Global Change Fellow, and Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Her work will deliver high‑resolution hurricane simulations, loss and damage statistics, and public engagement opportunities—positioning The UWI and the Caribbean as global leaders in climate attribution science. 

 Principal of The UWI Mona Campus, Professor Densil A. Williams, stated, “This fellowship is an important investment that will help The UWI produce the human capital needed to guide policy decisions informed by rigorous science, ensuring our societies build back better.”

 Professor Michael Taylor, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology and Co‑Director of CSGM, added, “CCRIF’s investment in detection and attribution science is visionary. By supporting research that directly links extreme weather to climate change, CCRIF is helping to place Caribbean science at the centre of global climate justice efforts.” 

 Early results underscore the fellowship’s impact: 

-     Hurricane Beryl (2024): Attribution analysis showed wind intensity exceeding historical analogues, ranking among the top 5% of storms under future warming scenarios. 

-    Hurricane Melissa (2025): A World Weather Attribution study, led by UWI scientists, found climate change increased wind speeds by ~7%, rainfall by ~16%, and made rapid intensification six times more likely—revealing the limits of adaptation for small island states. 

 This initiative builds on The UWI’s longstanding partnership with CCRIF, which has provided over US$1.8 million in scholarships, internships, and project funding since 2010. Together, The UWI and CCRIF are advancing Caribbean leadership in climate science, resilience financing, and global climate justice. 

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 About The University of the West Indies

The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region for the past 75 years.

From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Open Campus, and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.

The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean in the World University Rankings, it is also in the top 25 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old).  The UWI is also featured among the leading universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.

2023 marks The UWI’s 75th anniversary. The Diamond jubilee milestone themed “UWI at 75. Rooted. Ready. Rising.” features initiatives purposely designed and aligned to reflect on the past, confront the present, and articulate plans for the future of the regional University.

Learn more at www.uwi.edu  

 

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