Efforts to defend against disasters using climate information

A number of projects around the world are using climate predictions and information in support of disaster risk reduction. A sampling of such recent and ongoing projects includes:

The WMO Tropical Cyclone Program provides information on tropical cyclone hazards and the WMO Severe Weather Information Centre real-time tropical cyclone advisories.

The WMO Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS) forecasts sand and dust storm events to provide early warning, in addition to conducting multidisciplinary research on the hazards. Approximately 14 Operational Research Dust Forecasting Centres produce daily dust and sand forecasts.

The WMO-supported Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre in Singapore is dedicated to the forecasting of wildfires and related events.

It was established in the wake of the 1997 South-East Asia fires through the efforts of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The centre provides public satellite imagery and information about the location and size of major fires and smoke plumes. WMO, in cooperation with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Program, has developed guidelines for policymakers on actions that can be taken in response to fires.

The WMO Guidelines on Climate Watches describe how to establish a climate watch system that provides advance information for continuous risk reduction. Based on ongoing collaboration with climate information users, the system is a mechanism for initiating preparedness activities that limited impacts from climate extremes such as excessive precipitation over a period of several months.

The guidelines are intended to help National Meteorological and Hydrological Services that have limited resources.

Based on its series of research studies on past and future climate change in Hong Kong, China, the Hong Kong Observatory has provided to engineering and disaster management departments and organizations information about extreme events in the last century and projections of temperature and rainfall in Hong Kong in the twenty-first century.

The Hong Kong Observatory also maintains a comprehensive online database of climate information for Hong Kong, including regional information on climate norms and extremes, to facilitate use by the general public and specialised users for planning purposes.

Courtesy: World Meteorological Organization