Professor Tim Palmer, Co-Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Predicting and Modelling Climate was named CBE in Her Majesty The Queen’s New Year's Honours, for services to science.

Professor Palmer’s work aims to increase the reliability of climate prediction through the development of mathematical techniques for use in next-generation modelling of Earth’s climate system, to better inform major decisions in climate mitigation and adaptation.

Commenting on the honour, he said: “As it happens my birthday falls on New Year's Eve, which normally makes Christmas and my birthday a bit of a blur. However, this year has been rather different!

“Although this type of award may seem a little anachronistic, the one thing that makes it quite unique is that it is something that my colleagues, my family and indeed the whole village community in which I live, can all appreciate. As a result I have had congratulatory messages from all sorts of different people."

“I would not be receiving this honour without the hard work and dedication of the many meteorologists and climate scientists I have worked with over the years, including those in Oxford. Although this work is primarily driven by the desire to understand our climate system better, the work has led to improvements in our ability to predict weather and climate reliability, for the benefit of society worldwide.”

• Join us on 29 January for Professor Palmer's seminar, 'Climate change: dealing with uncertainty'