The international community commits to serve growing expectations for climate services

An ambitious international drive to cushion the impact of climate variability and change through the provision of user-orientated climate services like seasonal outlooks, drought and flood advisories will be accelerated thanks to decisions taken at an intergovernmental meeting organized by the World Meteorological Organization. At its first session 1 to 5 July 2013, the Intergovernmental Board on Climate Services agreed on an operational road map for the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS). This is a country-driven initiative to provide accurate and accessible climate services to users all over the world, with an initial focus on the agriculture, water, health and disaster management communities. "The urgency in achieving early successes in this endeavour cannot be overstated," said WMO President David Grimes. "We have seen many recent examples of climate-related extreme events with enormous negative social and economic impacts and the tragic loss of life."