WMO Experts Call for Better Regional Climate Observation

Geneva, 15/05/2017 (MAP) – Senior representatives of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and World Climate Research Programme joined scientists meeting at the UN Climate Change Conference, in Bonn, in warning of accelerating global climate impacts and called for more and better regional observation to help local populations build resilience to climate change with the help of more precise forecasts and modeling, said the WMO Monday on its website.

This is particularly important given the fact that the current global average temperature is affecting different regions in different ways. While global climate models provide important projections, they generally cover vast regions encompassing different landscapes, each with varying potential for floods, droughts, and other extreme events, it added.

In Bonn, the Arctic Council reported that the Arctic has been warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. And other experts said that for Africa, with several regions already facing severe droughts, more extreme dryness is projected. However climate impacts in Africa will vary – for example, the Horn of Africa could see increased rainfall by the end of the century. Because of this, it is crucial for individual countries and the international community to build capacity to better and understand and prepare for the changes to come, said the UN agency.

And given that differences in regional climate projections are so large, it is essential to update adaptation and disaster risk policies according to regional hazard scenarios, it noted.