World Meteorological Congress approves climate services implementation plan
Climate change is accelerating
An extract from WMO press release no. 963
A session of the World Meteorological Congress 29-31 October approved the governance structure and implementation plan for the Global Framework for Climate Services. Governments from around the world agreed on a detailed road map to improve and expand climate services essential to cope with weather, climate and water-related hazards several of which are expected to increase in frequency and/or intensity.
About 70 countries currently have either inadequate or no climate services and therefore are vulnerable to natural variations in our climate and human induced climate change. They will be given special priority under the Global Framework for Climate Services.
Accelerating climate change is leading to more climate and weather extremes – a trend expected to increase in the future, with in particular more destructive flooding, severe droughts, heat waves and heavy rainfall in many parts of the world.
The Global Framework for Climate Services will bring together providers of climate services, researchers and users to make sure that the information provided by meteorologists and climate scientists is understandable and relevant to climate-sensitive activity. The initial focus will be on improved service delivery for disaster risk reduction, health, water management, agriculture and food security.
The extraordinary session of Congress approved a resolution to establish an Intergovernmental Board on Climate Services to ensure coordination at the regional and global levels and to engage the entire UN system and other stakeholders to deliver needs-based climate services all over the world. It will seek to ensure that the programmes of partners and the activities of GFCS are aligned, and that a broad range of expertise is mobilized in order to serve the users' interests. The Board will operate under the authority of the World Meteorological Congress.
Congress also approved a resolution on the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services. Eight fast track projects described in the implementation plan will serve to showcase the benefits of climate services for the improvement of livelihoods. The implementation structure includes five components across which activities will be coordinated and integrated:
- User Interface Platforms (forums for the engagement of climate providers and users)
- Climate Services Information System
- Observations and Monitoring
- Research, Modelling and Prediction
- Capacity building
(An extract from WMO press release no. 963)
