Dear Authors,

All three Reviewers are very positive about the merits of your manuscript and its suitability for publication in ESD, following minor revisions. I therefore look forward to receiving a revised version of the document, according to the replies you provided in the public discussion.

Best Regards,
Gabriele Messori

Dear Authors,

Having reviewed the updated draft you provided, I am satisfied that you have addressed the minor concerns expressed by the Reviewers and that your study is suitable for publication in Earth System Dynamics. Before formally accepting it, I would suggest two further technical edits:

ll. 440-446 of the tracked-changes manuscript: Remove the repetition of “three first forecast years” from the sentence you added in

Reply to Reviewer #2, comment on Figs. 8 and 10 (page C8 in the file provided here: https://esd.copernicus.org/preprints/esd-2020-66/)
You have updated Fig. 8, but not Fig. 10. I would suggest that you also update Fig. 10 so that the two figures have a consistent formatting.

I also take this occasion to thank you for having chosen ESD as outlet for your research.

Best Regards,
Gabriele Messori