John Nairn

John has joined WMO’s joint WMO/WHO Office for a year. He brings deep operational experience in the delivery of impact-based heatwave forecast and warning services.

John Nairn developed the Bureau of Meteorology’s National Heatwave Service and conducted a Churchill Fellowship on heatwaves, visiting the UK, Germany, and USA in 2013. John directed the Reducing Illness and Lives Lost from Heatwaves project where the Bureau of Meteorology partnered with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Department of Health, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Geoscience Australia to develop heatwave vulnerability assessments by post code for Australia.

Over a 40-year career John has pursued client-focused deployments within the Bureau of Meteorology in Antarctic operations, training, severe weather (severe thunderstorms, bushfires, flood, tsunami, wind storms and heatwaves), specialised airport operations (Sydney), Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games and multiple interstate bushfire emergencies apart from operational forecasting in the Northern Territory, Victoria, Western Australia, NSW and South Australia. Prior to joining the Bureau, John worked in the CSIRO (Cronulla) as a physical oceanographer on the East Australia Current project.

John has a PhD, MBA, Dip Ed and a BSc Hon in Meteorology and Oceanography.