On 19 March 2025, an awareness event on air quality was held for the residents of Aglantzia Elderly Home, within the context of the Edu4Climate European program. The program is coordinated by the Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C) of the Cyprus Institute, in collaboration with the Municipality of Nicosia and other European partners.
Representing the Mayor of Nicosia, the Deputy Mayor of Aglantzia, Andreas Constantinou, addressed the residents, emphasising the importance of this initiative. On behalf of the Cyprus Institute, CARE-C Associate Research Scientist, Dr. Michalis Pikridas gave a presentation on key sources of air pollution in Cyprus and its impact on human health.
As part of the Edu4Climate program, sensors measuring air quality have been installed at four locations in Aglantzia, including the Aglantzia Elderly Home. These sensors measure fine and coarse particulate matter—key indicators of air quality—which are linked to the effects of air pollution on human health.
This event marks the beginning of a series of activities organised by CARE-C of the Cyprus Institute in collaboration with the Municipality of Nicosia, aimed at raising awareness and educating citizens about air pollution and climate change.
Το έργο αυτό χρηματοδοτείται από την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση στο πλαίσιο του προγράμματος Ορίζοντας Ευρώπη (αριθμός έργου: 101071247)
A new study, led by Ms Anna Zenonos, Graduate Research Fellow and PhD student at CARE-C of the Cyprus Institute, has utilised high-resolution aerial imagery and artificial intelligence (AI), by developing a deep learning neural network model to map and count the number of trees in selected areas in Cyprus. This research creates the basis of establishing the first national tree-level inventory of Cyprus using airborne remote-sensing, an essential tool for effective carbon stock assessment and land-based mitigation strategies.
Trees play a vital role in combating climate change by absorbing CO₂ and providing cooling effects. However, in Cyprus—a climate change hotspot facing intensified forest fires and arid conditions—effective land-based mitigation efforts have been hindered by the lack of a comprehensive tree monitoring system. To address this gap, researchers of CARE-C, in collaboration with the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE) in France and the University of Copenhagen, in Denmark, have adapted a deep learning neural network, which was previously applied in Denmark and Finland, to analyze 10 cm-resolution airborne images from 2019. The study mapped tree crowns and counted individual trees across 107 square kilometres, including Troodos National Forest Park, Athalassa Forest Park in the capital city, and a small urban area.
Nearly one million trees were identified in Troodos Forest Park alone—an estimate that wouldn’t have been feasible without remote sensing and AI-powered analysis. This research sets the stage for Cyprus’ first national tree-level inventory, enabling more precise forest carbon stock assessments.
A demonstration video showcasing the map’s features can be viewed here: Watch the video
This research has been conducted within the context of the Edu4Climate project, funded by the European Commission.
Reference: Zenonos, A., Li, S., Brandt, M., Sciare, J., & Ciais, P. (2025). AI-powered estimation of tree covered area and number of trees over the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Frontiers in Remote Sensing, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2025.1498217
The 3rd Autumn School, organised by CARE-C of the Cyprus Institute, entitled “Drones and Sensors in Atmospheric Sciences”, which took place on 11 November to 15 November 2024, has been successfully concluded.
The week- long course took place at the Cyprus Institute’s premises in Nicosia, Cyprus and it was attended by 14 students from 14 different countries including Lebanon, Finland, India, Portugal, Pakistan and other.
The main focus of this year’s Autumn School was the operation and scientific exploitation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sensor systems in atmospheric sciences. The students had the opportunity to visit some of the Centre’s facilities such as the Unmanned Systems Research Laboratory (USRL) UAV airfield and the Ayia Marina Xyliatou station of the Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory, where they learned more about atmospheric data measurements through the Centre’s bespoke UAVs and ground-based instruments. They were also offered theoretical and hands-on training on the technical operation of sensors in the lab as well as computer-based data processing.
This Autumn School was organized within the framework of the H2020 Teaming Project EMME-CARE (emme-care.cyi.ac.cy), and the Horizon Europe project Edu4Climate (edu4climate.cyi.ac.cy). Course organization was led by CARE-C, The Cyprus Institute, with the contribution of the EMME-CARE Advanced Partners and the Edu4Climate Consortium partners.
Numerous members of CARE-C at the Cyprus Institute played a key role in the success of the international conference on the ‘Climate Crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East’ held from September 26-28, 2024, at Radisson Beach, in Larnaca, Cyprus. Organized by the Cyprus Institute and the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts, the event brought together prominent scientists and policymakers from 22 countries to discuss scientific data and explore strategies for adaptation and mitigation in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) region. The conference attracted over 250 participants.
The Director of CARE-C, Prof. Jean Sciare, alongside distinguished partners of the EMMECARE teaming project—Prof Philippe Ciais, Prof. Jos Lelieveld, and Prof. Markku Kulmala—led a panel session titled ‘The Evolving Climate Crisis: The Scientific Basis.’ The session highlighted the key climate challenges facing the EMME region, including air pollution, extreme heat, and the role of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. The panelists also explored potential solutions to these crucial issues.
‘The Evolving Climate Crisis: The Scientific Basis’ panel session
In another panel session, Assoc. Prof. Panos Hadjinicolaou and Dr. George Zittis discussed the impacts of extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods on public health, providing valuable insights into the growing risks these phenomena pose to the region.
‘Extreme Events (Heatwaves, Droughts, Floods etc and Health)’ panel session
Additionally, Dr. Marco Neira, Dr. Kamil Erguler, and Prof. Jos Lelieveld organized a pre-conference workshop on 24-25 September, 2024, titled ‘Climate and Health in the Urban Environment’. This event brought together 21 researchers, from eight different countries, to discuss recent scientific advances on the health effects of extreme temperatures, air pollution, and vector-borne diseases.
‘Climate and Health in the Urban Environment’ workshop
Prof. Costas Cartalis and Assoc Prof. Panos Hadjinicolaou also led a workshop on 25 September, 2024 on ‘Urban Overheating in the Mediterranean and the Middle East-North Africa.’ This workshop gathered climate science experts from the region to present and discuss scientific progress in the monitoring, analysis, and prediction of the urban heat island and mitigation strategies of its associated impacts and it included contributions from Action 2.3 ‘Climate Crisis and Urban heat Island’ of the CLIMPACT project in Greece (‘National Network for Research on Climate Change and its Impacts’). CARE-C researchers and PhD students participated in both workshops.
Finally, Dr. Marco Neira co-ordinated the conference’s poster session, which featured contributions from CARE-C researchers and PhD students. Notable presentations included:
Dr. Kamil Erguler’s poster on ‘VEClim – An Early Warning Support System for Climate-Sensitive Vector-Borne Diseases’.
Dr. Marco Neira’s work on ‘Effects of Climate Change on Environmental Suitability for Dairy Cattle: Predictions from a High-Resolution Analysis’.
Mr. Andreas Karpasitis’ work on ‘Precipitation Projections and Variability Changes in North Africa Based on the CMIP6 Ensemble’.
Mr. Frangeskos Kekkou’s poster on ‘Health Impacts of Extreme Temperature Events: A Mortality and Hospitalization Study in Cyprus (2004-2019)’.
Ms. Konstantina Koutroumanou-Kontosis’ research on ‘Statistical Downscaling of CMIP6 Models to the Urban Scale: A Case Study for Athens, Greece, within the CLIMPACT Project.’.
Ms. Alkistis Papetta’s poster on ‘Integrating UAV-Based In-Situ and Ground-Based Remote Sensing Observations for Enhanced Aerosol Profiling.’
Ms. Aayushi Shama’s research on the ‘Detection of Usutu Virus and Culex pipiens molestus in Targeted Mosquito Surveillance Collections from Cyprus.’
‘Effects of Climate Change on Environmental Suitability for Dairy Cattle: Predictions from a High-Resolution Analysis’ by Dr Neira
‘Precipitation Projections and Variability Changes in North Africa Based on the CMIP6 Ensemble’ by Mr Karpasitis
‘Integrating UAV-Based In-Situ and Ground-Based Remote Sensing Observations for Enhanced Aerosol Profiling’ by Ms Papetta
‘Statistical Downscaling of CMIP6 Models to the Urban Scale: A Case Study for Athens, Greece, within the CLIMPACT Project’ by Ms Koutroumanou-Kontosis
‘Health Impacts of Extreme Temperature Events: A Mortality and Hospitalization Study in Cyprus (2004-2019)’ by Mr Kekkou
‘Detection of Usutu Virus and Culex pipiens molestus in Targeted Mosquito Surveillance Collections from Cyprus’ by Ms Shama
‘VEClim – An Early Warning Support System for Climate-Sensitive Vector-Borne Diseases’ by Dr Erguler
You can find more details about the conference here.
The conference is supported by the EMME-CARE and the Edu4Climate projects.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 856612 and the Cyprus Government
Two open-doors events were organised at the Finokalia station in Crete.
The Finokalia atmospheric monitoring station is operated by the Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory (ECPL) of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Crete since 1993. The station is representative for the Eastern Mediterranean atmosphere and has attracted strong scientific attention in the fields of atmospheric composition, air quality and climate change. It also reports to authorities as the regional background station for Greece.
People of all ages visited the Finokalia station and were welcomed by University of Crete personnel. Visitors were introduced to atmospheric measuring techniques and were presented briefly the achievements and main scientific findings.
Short bio: Roubina Papaconstantinou started pursuing her PhD in Energy, Environment and Atmospheric Sciences in October 2020. She joined CARE-C of the Cyprus Institute in December 2019 as a Research Assistant in Aerosol Science and Technology. She holds a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cyprus (2018) and an MSc in Engineering Materials from the University of Southampton (2019).
PhD year of study: 4th year
PhD supervision: Prof George Biskos
PhD institution: The Cyprus Institute
Thesis title and description: “Performance Evaluation and Development of Cost-Effective Sensor Platforms for Air Quality Monitoring, Localization and Quantification of Emissions”
This research aims to assess the capability of a UAV-based system to detect and geo-localize accurately CH₄ sources. Thanks to further fusion/processing of the multi-sensor data with a Gaussian dispersion model, the solution is not only limited to the high-resolution 3D mapping of atmospheric concentrations of CH₄ (expressed in ppb) but can also calculate accurately CH₄ emissions in the atmosphere (expressed in kg/h) and therefore fulfil regulation requirements (which concern emissions and not concentrations).
Relevance of Edu4Climate to your project: The objectives of this research align well with Edu4Climate’s aim to address challenges related to air pollution and climate change in the EMME. Methane (CH₄) is the second most significant anthropogenic greenhouse gas. Reducing CH₄ emissions is essential to mitigate climate change. The potential for CH₄ emissions mitigation is closely linked to improvements at individual sites, including industrial sites (natural gas), landfills, and farms. Therefore, the reliability of tools to identify and monitor emissions at the site level is crucial. The findings significantly contribute to understanding the dispersion of CH₄ emissions and improving quantification methodologies. Ultimately, this work will inform strategies to reduce site-level methane emissions and mitigate climate change.
Short bio: Nikos Gialesakis graduated from the University of Crete, Department of Chemistry where he also obtained his master’s. He conducted his research thesis “Interannual and seasonal variability of greenhouse gases at Finokalia station in the Eastern Mediterranean” at the Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory. Since then, he has been part of a joint PhD between the University of Crete and the University of Bremen.
PhD year of study: 2nd year
PhD supervision: Professor Maria Kanakidou (University of Crete) and Professor Mihalis Vrekoussis (University of Bremen).
PhD institution: University of Crete, Department of Chemistry, Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory (ECPL) and University of Bremen, Institute of Environmental Physics, Laboratory for Modeling and Observation of the Earth System (LAMOS)
Thesis title and description: “Study of the sources of greenhouse gases in the east Mediterranean using a 3D data assimilation system”
The aim of our study is to optimize the bottom-up anthropogenic emission estimations of greenhouse gases over Greece. We provide the estimated emissions to an atmospheric model (WRF-CHEM-GHG) which are being optimized by assimilating in-situ and satellite observation, using a data assimilation system (CTDAS). The coupled system compares the simulated results with observation data and tries to minimize their differences by optimizing the anthropogenic emissions, resulting in more accurate emissions.
Relevance of Edu4Climate to your project: Greece is part of the EMME which is identified as a critical area impacted by climate change. By providing more accurate emission estimates we can better understand the impact of human activities on the region and develop effective strategies to mitigate their effects and to achieve the Paris agreement objectives, which align with the Edu4Climate objective to address climate change and air pollution related challenges in the region.
Short bio: Siqing Xu received her bachelor degree of geoscience in 2019 from Central South University (China), master’s degree of environmental science in 2022 from Fudan University (China), and now is a joint PhD student between the Cyprus Institute and University Paris-Saclay since December 2022.
PhD year of study: 2nd year
PhD supervision: Prof. Jean Sciare (CyI), Prof. Jos Lelieveld (CyI), Dr Yves Balkanski (LSCE, Gif/Yvette, France)
PhD Institution: Cyprus Institute and University Paris-Saclay
Thesis title and description: “Vegetation – Dust Cycle Feedback in IPSL Earth System Models”
In semi-arid regions, grasslands with lower density tend to have more bare soil, which provides the basis for dust emission. Our work focuses on simulating dynamic grass density and coupling vegetation with dust emission in Earth System Model.
Relevance of Edu4Climate to your project: Simulating dust emission is an important part in this PhD work and Edu4Climate supports the subject of dust emission especially in (semi-) arid regions.
Short bio: Anna Zenonos has obtained her BSc in Applied Mathematics from the University of Cyprus in 2021, and she continued her studies obtaining an MSc in Applied Mathematics, with specialization in Plasma Physics, from KU Leuven, Belgium, in 2023. She is currently pursuing her PhD, a joint doctorate, between the Cyprus Institute (CyI) and Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement -LSCE at University Paris-Saclay.
PhD year of study: 1st year
PhD supervision: Professor Jean Sciare (CyI) and Professor Philippe Ciais (LSCE, University Paris-Saclay).
PhD Institution: The Cyprus Institute and Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement-LSCE at University Paris-Saclay.
Thesis title and description:“Development of the first national airborne tree inventory for Cyprus and the estimation of tree carbon stock and carbon emissions of buildings over Cyprus”.
The study aims in the creation of a monitoring system of tree resources using state-of-art methods, something that is currently missing for Cyprus. In addition, the estimation of carbon stock of trees and carbon emissions of buildings will assist in the construction of effective strategies aiming to the reduction of carbon emissions and finally, to the achievement of carbon neutrality.
Relevance of Edu4Climate to your project: The study’s aims align with the “Fit for 55” plan that refers to the target of the European Union for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Moreover, the development of a forest monitoring system contributes to the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) greenhouse inventory by covering a significant gap in knowledge for Cyprus. Therefore, the results of this research will contribute to addressing challenges related to air pollution and climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) region, one of the main objectives of the Edu4Climate project.
On Saturday, June 29, 2024, the Finokalia Open Science festival was successfully held in Ano Merambello, in the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos, in Crete.
The festival took place at the University of Crete’s environmental station in Finokalia.
Experiments and demonstrations were conducted by research teams from the University of Crete, FORTH, HCMR, the Natural History Museum of Crete, and the 2nd Science Lab Center of Heraklion.
A total of seven teams presented activities for both children and adults.
As night fell, the festival continued with musical performances by University of Crete ensembles and local artists.
