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Last month saw one of the biggest breakthroughs in the history of climate response. UN member countries gathered in France to discuss and approve a global deal for emission reductions. The agreement is poised to give a critical push towards reducing the impacts of global warming in the coming decades and beyond. As 2016 starts, we cast a critical eye over the agreement and reflect on the challenges to its implementation, ranging from technological hurdles to food security. From international frameworks to work on the ground, we discover how measuring weather is important to inform climate science and better understand regional climate patterns. Although weather-monitoring systems are currently underfunded, only a little additional money and increased political awareness would be enough to reverse the situation. We then travel to South Africa, where we visit the continent’s first open science forum, organised to raise global awareness of local research. We also speak to experts and discuss the role of robus