Apostolos Voulgarakis
Professor, Climate Change and Atmospheric Environment

AXA Chair in Wildfires and Climate
Atmospheric Environment and Climate Change Laboratory
Division I: Environmental & Energy Management, Sustainable Development and Climate Change

Extended CV (pdf)

Contact

  • Office Hours: Daily 9:00-13:00 (it is recommended to arrange an appointment by e-mail)

Education

  • 2008: PhD in Atmospheric Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge.
  • 2004: MSc, School in Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete.
  • 2002: BSc in Physics, School of Natural Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Research Interests

  • Climate change and the atmospheric environment
  • Temperature and rainfall effects of air pollution
  • Fire-climate interactions
  • Earth observation & Earth system modelling
  • Climate, air pollution, and health co-benefits
  • Global & regional environmental policy

Participation in Research Programs and Projects

  • “AXA Chair in Wildfires and Climate”, Awardee/Coordinator, Funding: AXA Research Fund, 2022-2026.
  • “Fire-emitted Pollution and Climate change: linkages in the past, present, and future (FirePC)”, Coordinator, Funding: Hellenic Foundation for Research and innovation (HFRI), 2022-2024.
  • “Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society”, Founder/Founding Director and current Associate Director, Funding: Leverhulme Trust (UK), 2019-2029.
  • "National Research Network for Climate Change and its Impacts II (CLIMPACT II)", participant from TUC, Funding: General Secretariat of Research and Technology, Greece, 2020-2022.
  • "Cloud-aERosol inTeractions & their impActs IN The earth sYstem (CERTAINTY)” (Co-I), EU Horizon, 2024-2027.
  • "A Holistic Fire Management Ecosystem for Prevention, Detection and Restoration of Environmental Disasters (TREEADS)” (Co-I), EUGreenDeal Horizon 2020, 2022-2025.

Distinctions and Awards

  • Analysis Lead for the effects of regional aerosols on the global hydrological cycle in the international Precipitation Drivers and Response Modelling Intercomparison Project (PDRMIP), (2014-present).
  • Awarded as Best Tutor at Imperial College London (2016, and also nominated for other teaching awards in all subsequent years till 2019).
  • Invited to be the Lead Climate Science Adviser for the first Climate Change Risk Assessment of Cyprus, commissioned by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Cyprus (2015-16).
  • Contributing Author to the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), Chapters 6 & 11 (2013), resulting from the work conducted while based at the NASA GISS institute.
  • Best Young Researcher Award, from the Hellenic Meteorological Society (2008).

Recent Publications

  • Wells, C. D., Kasoar, M., Bellouin, N., and Voulgarakis, A. (2023), Local and remote climate impacts of future African aerosol emissions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3575–3593, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3575-2023.
  • Chatoutsidou, S. E., Saridaki, A., Raisi, L., Katsivela, E., Stathopoulou, P., Tsiamis, G., Voulgarakis, A., and Lazaridis, M. (2023), Variations, seasonal shifts and ambient conditions affecting airborne microorganisms and particles at a southeastern Mediterranean site, Sci. Total Environ, 892, 164797,                                               https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164797.
  • Stjern, C. W., Forster, P. M., Jia, H., Jouan, C., Kasoar, M. R., Myhre, G., Olivié, D., Quaas, J., Samser, B. H., Sand, M., Takemura, T., Voulgarakis, A., and Wells, C. D. (2023), The Time Scales of Climate Responses to Carbon Dioxide and Aerosols, J. Climate, 36, 3537-355, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-22-0513.1.
  • Misal, H., Varela, E., Voulgarakis, A., Rovithakis, A., Grillakis, M., and Kountouris, I. (2023), Assessing public preferences for a wildfire mitigation policy in Crete, Greece, Forest Policy and Economics, 153, 102976, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2023.102976.
  • Grillakis, M., Voulgarakis, A. et al. (2022), Climate drivers of global wildfire burned area, Environ. Res. Lett., 17, 045021, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5fa1.
  • Rovithakis, A., Grillakis, M.G. et al. (incl. Voulgarakis) (2022), Future climate change impact on wildfire danger over the Mediterranean: the case of Greece, Environ. Res. Lett., 17, 045022, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5f94.
  • Xie, X., G. Myhre, D. Shindell, G. Faluvegi, T. Takemura, A. Voulgarakis, Z. Shi, X. Li, X. Xie, H. Liu, X. Liu, and Y. Liu (2022), Anthropogenic sulfate aerosol pollution in South and East Asia induces increased summer precipitation over arid Central Asia, Commun. Earth Environ., 3, no. 1, 328, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00660-x.
  • Myhre, G., B. Samset, P.M. Forster, Ø. Hodnebrog, M. Sandstad, C.W. Mohr, J. Sillmann, C.W. Stjern, T. Andrews, O. Boucher, G. Faluvegi, T. Iversen, J.-F. Lamarque, M. Kasoar, A. Kirkevåg, R. Kramer, L. Liu, J. Mülmenstädt, D. Olivié, J. Quaas, T.B. Richardson, D. Shawki, D. Shindell, C. Smith, P. Stier, T. Tang, T. Takemura, A. Voulgarakis, and D. Watson-Parris (2022), Scientific data from precipitation driver response model intercomparison project. Sci. Data, 9, no. 1, 123, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01194-9.
  • Thomas, C., Voulgarakis, A., Lim, G., Haigh, J., and Nowack, P. (2021), An unsupervised learning approach to identifying blocking events: the case of European summer, Weather Clim. Dynam., 2(3), 581-608, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-581-2021.
  • Mansfield, L., Nowack, P., Kasoar, M., Everitt, R. G., W. J. Collings, and A. Voulgarakis (2020), Predicting global patterns of long-term climate change from short-term simulations using machine learning, npj Clim. &. Atmospheric Sci. (Nature journal), 3, 44, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-020-00148-5.