This Research Topic highlights the scientific themes of the Pan-CLIVAR 2025 symposium, held in Indonesia at the heart of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool—a key region for global ocean-atmosphere interactions and climate variability. As a conduit for the Indonesian Throughflow and a center of tropical convection, this region plays a critical role in shaping global climate patterns and is highly susceptible to the impacts of phenomena such as ENSO, the Indian Ocean Dipole, monsoons, and compound events like marine heatwaves, sea level extremes, and droughts. These processes, interacting across ocean basins and latitudes—including the Arctic and Antarctic—affect biogeochemical cycles, the carbon system, and societal well-being, particularly in Southeast Asia.

This Research Topic invites contributions that advance understanding of the symposium’s scientific themes through improved observations, modeling, theory, and the application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence. It encompasses eight key themes, aiming to identify knowledge gaps, foster international collaboration, and enhance climate prediction and societal resilience in the face of a changing climate.

We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following key themes:

• Climate variability and change

• Ocean processes and extremes (e.g., marine heatwaves, sea level rise, Indonesian Throughflow)

• Atmospheric processes and climate dynamics (e.g., monsoons, inter-basin interactions)

• Cascading and compound events

• Biogeochemical processes and climate interactions

• Artificial intelligence: Role in climate-ocean research and prediction

• Ocean-climate observations and modeling

• Societal impact

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Bridging Ocean-Climate Science and Society in Southeast Asia and Beyond