Novice/Vreme
WMO Hosts Students âÂÂMy WorldâÂÂ
21.5.2014|Vreme
The World Meteorological Organization opened its doors to more than 100 students from academies in France, Croatia, Poland and Czech Republic for an international conference “Notre Monde, My World” from 19-21 May.
The event was part of WMO’s drive to reach out to younger audiences in line with the theme of World Meteorological Day: Weather and Climate: Engaging Youth.
Tanzania: Climate Services for Action
16.5.2014|Vreme
The United Republic of Tanzania has held national consultations on how to roll out climate services to make the East African nation more resilient to climate variability and change. Immediate priorities include the provision of tailored weather and climate forecasts to help pastoralists cope with drought, disaster managers to prepare for flooding and the health sector anticipate outbreaks of malaria, cholera and other diseases.
A meeting in Dar es Salaam 7-9 May agreed on a series of measures to move forward with the Climate Service Adaptation Programme. It recommended the creation of a permanent platform to strengthen dialogue between weather and climate service providers and a wide range of stakeholders. This will ensure that the weather and climate services provided are relevant, accessible and understandable to users ranging from government ministers to local community leaders.
South-West Pacific Regional Association Meets
7.5.2014|Vreme
Meteorologists in the South-West Pacific are meeting to discuss how to strengthen weather and climate services in a region exposed to heatwaves, drought, tropical cyclones and flash floods, and is especially vulnerable to rising sea-levels caused by climate change.
Promotion of sustainable development, especially in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is high on the agenda of the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Association for the South West Pacific session in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 2 to 8 May, 2014.
The Regional Association, which currently groups 23 Members, meets every four years to discuss challenges and priorities. WMO has six such Regional Associations.
Indian Ocean governments to collaborate on rescuing climate data
29.4.2014|Vreme
Recognizing the need to accelerate the recovery of the region’s large volume of invaluable historical climate records, governments meeting this week in Maputo, Mozambique have decided to establish the Indian Ocean Data Rescue (INDARE) initiative.
The International Workshop on the Recovery and Digitization of Climate Heritage in the Indian Ocean Rim Countries and Islands also adopted a declaration and agreed to finalize an INDARE implementation plan.
South Asian Climate Outlook Forum on 2014 summer monsoon season
29.4.2014|Vreme
The South Asian Climate Outlook Forum has issued its climate outlook for the summer monsoon season of 2014. There is strong consensus among the experts about the possibility of evolution of an El Niño event during the summer monsoon season. However, it is recognized that there is uncertainty in the intensity of the El Niño event. There is also consensus about the potential for adverse impacts of El Niño on the monsoon rainfall over the region. However, other regional and global factors also can affect the monsoon rainfall patterns over the region.
Weather and Climate Information for Food Security
29.4.2014|Vreme
WMO’s Commission for Agricultural Meteorology has held its quadrennial session, which was dominated by the need to optimize weather and climate services to improve food security for the growing global population and meet the challenges of climate change and extreme events such as droughts and floods, which can wreak havoc with crops, livelihoods and commodity prices.
The Commission, which met 10-15 April in Antalya, Turkey, set its priorities for the next four years. These include the critical need for more human and financial resources and capacity-building, and for closer cooperation between meteorologists, farmers and the wider agricultural industry, said Commission President Byong-Lyol Lee, who was re-elected for a second term.
NOAA: WMO retires Ingrid and Manuel for Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins
29.4.2014|Vreme
The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) hurricane committee announced today it will no longer use the name Ingrid for future tropical storms or hurricanes in the Atlantic, and the name Manuel in the eastern North Pacific, because of the death and destruction both storms caused in Mexico in September 2013.
The WMO will replace Ingrid with “Imelda” and Manuel with “Mario” when the 2013 lists are reused in 2019.
Climate change: immediate action is the best economic option
14.4.2014|Vreme
In the last decade, global greenhouse gas emissions have increased more rapidly than ever, and without global cooperation they will continue to rise. Reduction efforts will become increasingly challenging and costly the longer they are delayed, according to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
WORKSHOP TARGETS CLIMATE SERVICES FOR THE PACIFIC ISLAND STATES
1.4.2014|Vreme
A regional consultation aimed at improving weather and climate services is being held in the Cook Islands as part of a concerted drive to boost sustainable socio-economic development and disaster resilience in Small Island Developing States on the frontline of climate change and extreme events.
IPCC report on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation confirms the high human costs of climate change
1.4.2014|Vreme
The IPCC’s Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, a comprehensive assessment report by leading scientists launched here today, offers policymakers and the general public a wealth of information about how climate change will affect the lives of current and future generations – and what governments can do to adapt and reduce vulnerabilities.
IPCC report shows growing risks from already-present climate change
31.3.2014|Vreme
Climate change is already having substantial and widespread impacts around the world, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Drawing on a larger body of evidence than ever before, it highlights a wide range of risks in vital areas such as food supply, human health and economic development.
World Weather Research Programme improves regional ensemble forecasts
27.3.2014|Vreme
The World Weather Research Programme has launched a new tool to improve regional ensemble forecasts of high-impact weather and so strengthen early warning and disaster prevention.
A single web portal hosted by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) called TIGGE-LAM is now available. It currently groups five European ensemble systems in a standard data format, and five more will be added in the near future.
TIGGE-LAM is an extension of the THORPEX Interactive Grand Global Ensemble (TIGGE) archive to include weather forecasts from limited area model (LAM) ensembles. Five European ensemble systems are now available in a standard data format through a single web portal at ECMWF [see table]. These forecasts are produced on grids between 10 and 2 km resolution and provide detailed information for the short range, up to a few days ahead. This complements the larger-scale information provided by the global data in the established TIGGE archive.
USAID investment improves resilience to climate change in Caribbean
27.3.2014|Vreme
Around 40 million people are set to benefit from a new Regional Climate Centre for the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), which will significantly improve the ability to understand and predict current and future climate-related issues and help one of the world’s most vulnerable regions adapt to climate change.
The Programme for Building Regional Climate Capacity in the Caribbean is funded by an investment of US$5.085 million over the next three years from USAID. Its launch is especially timely given that 2014 is the International Year of the Small Island Developing States.
WMO Annual Climate Statement Highlights Extreme Events
25.3.2014|Vreme
The year 2013 once again demonstrated the dramatic impact of droughts, heat waves, floods and tropical cyclones on people and property in all parts of the planet, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s Annual Statement on the Status of the Climate. The report confirmed that 2013 tied with 2007 as the sixth warmest on record, continuing the long-term global warming trend. It provided a snapshot of regional and national temperatures and extreme events as well as details of ice cover, ocean warming, sea level rise and greenhouse gas concentrations – all inter-related and consistent indicators of our changing climate.
Meteorologlcal summer/winter sees many extremes
25.3.2014|Vreme
The recently ended meteorological summer/winter (December, January, February) witnessed many extreme weather conditions. The World Meteorological Organization has put together a compilation of highlights, based on reports from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and WMO Regional Climate Centres. This round-up is meant to serve as an information guide and is in response to media enquiries. It is not fully comprehensive and does not replace the WMO’s authoritative reports on the Status of the Global Climate.
According to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center, the combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for December-February was the eighth highest on record for this period, at about 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the 20th century average of 12.1°C (53.8°F).
UNFCC Turns 20
21.3.2014|Vreme
Friday, 21 March 2014 marks the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This is a moment to celebrate the far-sightedness of the Convention and all of the investment in its implementation that so many thousands of people have made over the last two decades, according to its Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres.
In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon praised the UNFCC as a “major catalyst in the growing developmental shift to clean technology, renewable energy, improved efficiency and adaptation.”
World Meteorological Day Focuses on Youth
20.3.2014|Vreme
Weather and Climate: Engaging Youth is the theme of World Meteorological Day 2014, seeking to increase awareness among young people about climate change and mobilize them as champions for action.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is also using the 23 March occasion as a rallying call for more young people – especially women – to become meteorologists: a profession which makes a vital contribution to the safety and well-being of society.
Today’s youth will benefit from thedramatic advances being made in our ability to understand and forecast the Earth’s weather and climate. Most will live into the second half of this century and experience the increasing impacts of climate change.
WMO and UNITAR cooperate on climate services
12.3.2014|Vreme
The World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have agreed to boost cooperation as part of a wider international initiative to strengthen links between providers and users of climate services as well as the education and research community.
The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 7 March to strengthen collaboration on projects of mutual interest, in support of implementation and effective operation of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).
A strong priority of the GFCS is to increase and improve interactions between climate service providers and those who make use of the services, in order to increase the uptake and effective use of climate information. This will require unprecedented collaboration because no single government or agency has the necessary resources to address all the challenges on its own. Consequently, the success of the GFCS depends on the ability of all relevant stakeholders including WMO to partner effectively to meet its objectives.
WMO formalizes cooperation with EUMETNET
12.3.2014|Vreme
WMO and the Network of European Meteorological Organizations, EUMETNET, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize their cooperation in areas such as observations, climate services, forecasting and training, early warning systems, disaster risk reduction, aviation meteorology and protection of radio frequencies need for meteorological purposes.
One of the immediate priorities will be joint work on the EUMETNET-AMDAR (Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay) Operational Service for high quality measurements of upper air meteorological variables from aircraft. There will also be closer cooperation to implement the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS).
EUMETNET has 31 Members in Europe and seeks to strengthen their individual and joint capabilities through enhanced networking, interoperability, optimization and integration. It coordinates the Meteoalarm warning system (www.meteoalarm.eu) providing relevant information needed to prepare for extreme weather in Europe.
Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum assesses coming rainy season
3.3.2014|Vreme
The Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum has issued its seasonal predictions for the forthcoming March-May rainy season, which is vital to agriculture and food security in a region vulnerable to both droughts and floods.
It predicted an increased likelihood of near normal to above normal rainfall over northern, western and southern Tanzania; Burundi; Rwanda; much of Uganda; western Kenya; western Ethiopia and much of South Sudan. Specifically, it said there was a 40% probability of near normal rainfall, a 35% probability of above normal rainfall and a 25% probability of below normal rainfall in these areas.
Increased likelihood of near normal (40%) to below normal (35%) rainfall is indicated over much of the northern, eastern and coastal areas, it said, noting a 20% probability of above normal rainfall in these areas.
