International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 CLIMATE DATA AND INFORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES Buruhani NYENZI Director World Climate Programme Omar BADDOUR Chief, World Climate Data and MonitoringProgramme World Meteorological Organization Geneva, Switzerland

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Outline PART I Climate Key Issues WMO’s Role in Climate WMO Programmes on Climate PART II Objectives and Structure of the Workshop

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Weather vs. Climate “Weather” is a snapshot of the state of atmosphere over a relatively short period of time (usually less than a week) “Climate” represents an average or collective state of the weather patterns over a long period of time Climate = Time average of weather + climate extremes

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Climate is NOT constant Changes in Climate occur on all time and space scales characteristic of the Earth System

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Climate Variability and Change Seasonal to interannual fluctuations are considered to be “climate variability”. –Anomalies can be expected to recur at intervals less than a decade and the long-term mean state essentially remains the same. Decadal and longer time scale changes are considered to be part of what is widely known as “climate change”. –Climatic characteristics tend to gradually move towards a substantially different mean state.

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 El Niño and La Niña El Niño (1997) La Niña (1988)

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Climate Change Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth's global climate or in regional climates over time. It describes changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes can be caused by processes internal to the Earth, external forces or, more recently, human activities.

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007

Direct Observations of Recent Climate Change (IPCC AR4) Global average air temperature warming trend has accelerated – : 0.74°C Average ocean temperature increased to depths of at least 3000 m – ocean has absorbed 80% of heat added (sea water expansion and sea-level rise)

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Global mean temperatures are rising faster with time   Warmest 12 years: 1998,2005,2003,2002,2004,2006, 2001,1997,1995,1999,1990,2000 Period Rate Years  /decade

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Climate Change Impacts Climate change, particularly the increasing surface temperature, is already affecting both natural and human-managed systems. All major socio-economic sectors will be affected, with a wide range of regional impacts: –Water –Ecosystems –Food –Coastal systems and low-lying areas –Industry, settlement and society –Health

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Decline in Arctic ice extent Difference in ice extent in March (maximum) and September (minimum) from the mean values for 1979 – The rates of decrease in March and September were 2% per decade and 7% per decade, respectively. Recent data from March 2006 are also shown and represent a new record minimum for the period of observation.

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Projections of Future Changes in Climate Precipitation increases very likely in high latitudes Decreases likely in most subtropical land regions

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Development Challenges –Single climate extreme events in some countries can cause setbacks equivalent to decade’s worth of economic growth –Climate Variability and extremes strongly impact Development and poverty in developing Countries –Achieving UN millennium Development goals will be possible only if climate variability and change are managed effectively

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Development Challenges Adaptation is the way forward by Building Adaptive Capacity and Taking Actions  Creating the Information through: Research, Data collection and monitoring  Awareness-raising  >Adjust Social Structure  Develop Governance  Set up Programmes and projects to reduce vulnerability to climate risks or to exploit opportunities

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 International Climate Activities GOOS (IOC, WMO, UNEP, ICSU) ISSC International Social Science Council ICSU International Council for Science UNESCO UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization WMOUN WORLD BANK FAOWHO IOCMAB UNEPUNDP IPCC UN FCCC/COPGEF IHDP International Human Dimensions Programme IGBP International Geosphere- Biosphere Programme CCA Coordination activities within the Climate Agenda WCRP (WMO, ICSU) WCDMP (WMO) WCASP (WMO) WCIRP (UNEP) GCOS (WMO, IOC, UNEP, ICSU) GTOS (UNEP, FAO, UNESCO, WMO, ICSU) THE CLIMATE AGENDA WORLD CLIMATE PROGRAMME International Non-government Organizations CCl

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 UNFCCC:COP12 Nairobi work programme with 9 areas of activities Methods and tools Data and observations Climate modeling, scenarios and downscaling Climate related risks and extreme events Socio-economic information Adaptation planning and practices Research Technologies for adaptation Economic diversification

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 WMO’s Climate-Related Activities 1- Observations, data management and data exchange WWW, SPACE PROGRAMME, GCOS, WCDMP 2- Research and predictions: WCRP,AREP 3- Climate products and services (for sector-specific applications) WCASP 4- Capacity building, education and training ETR 5- Climate coordination CCA 6- WMO Commission for Climatology (Established in 1929) CCl

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 GCOS Surface Network (GSN) 989 Stations

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Applications of climate information and prediction services to support human activities and sustainable development –Economic efficiency –Human health and well being –Food production, food security –Water resources planning and management –Renewable/efficient energy –Sustainable tourism –Urban and built environment

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Heat-Health Warning Systems Goals: Reduce mortality and morbidity associated with life-threatening heatwaves Strengthen WMO/NMHS partnerships with health and social services (global, regional, national) for effective service delivery – Met forecasts alone are insufficient Develop Guidance on and tools for: early warning and detection of health effects of heatwaves; national/local preparedness planning for extreme heat events; public/media outreach; interventions to save lives.

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 WMO proactively pursues climate applications Espoo Conference (Living with Climate Variability and Change: July, 2006) highlights the role of users and decision makers in climate services. Madrid Conference (Socio-economic Benefits of Meteorological Services: March, 2007) highlights the quantification of socio-economic benefits of meteorological services. ‘World Climate Conference Three under preparation UNFCCC COP-12 in 2006, recognized the role of WMO and NMHSs in the “Nairobi Programme of Work on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change”.

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Climate data and data management Current Priority activities Implementation of new CDMs to ensure better data management including new type of data and quality management Establish standards for the exchange of metadata and the needs for WIS Guide on the choice of instruments and sensors and basics characteristics of Climate networks and their observation Best practices for long term homogeneity of climate data Guidance and procedures for improved data exchange to meet GCOS requirements and principles Data Rescue at risk of lost and or degradation

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Climate Data management  Managing Climate records using modern data management systems  Ensuring easy access, and Data Import-export,  Providing quality control function Bridging IT gap in developing Countries, LCDs and SIDS A capacity building package includes: # THREE weeks training # Provision of CDMS # Provision of computer ready to operate THE AIM THE CHALLENGE

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Climate Data Management Systems (CDMSs) CLICOM Dos-based (outdated) iADAMA Australia CLIDATA Czech Republic JCDMS Jordan CLISYS France CLIWARE Russian Federation SDCLIM Tunisia CLIMSOFT Zimbabwe

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Implementation Status of CMDSs

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Analysis of Climate Variability and change Current Priority activities Develop and make use of indices of climate variability and change including surface, Identify observations needs for climate change detection Provision of WMO climate System monitoring and its relevant publications Coordinate global extreme data records

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Climate Change Indices RClimdex 27 Climate change detection indices: Using common climate parameters: (temperature, precipitation, cold/warm spells, etc.) Developed by CCl Experts Microsoft Excel based program Provides statistical analysis and graphics

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Regional Seminar on climate change indices for Central African Countries, Brazaville, Congo, April 2007

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate records in the Mediterranean Basin Tarragona, Spain, November 2007 GOALS OBJECTIVES and STRUCTURE

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 The Goal and Objectives of the Workshop The Long term Goal Is To have the Mediterranean Climate records Digitized in the longest possible time- series length HOW ? Using the best available techniques and methods in rescuing, imaging and digitizing data WHO ? NMHSs, Universities, Climate Institutions international Data archiving centres International Climate Data projects and networks Collaboration, Partnership, Information sharing, Multilateral projects, Networking are the key Elements in this enterprise

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 The objectives Immediate 1- Inform/discuss techniques and procedures on data and metadata recovery, digitization, composing,formatting, archiving and disseminating long-term climate records, 2- Discuss and issue recommendations to make accessible the rescued time series for the international scientific community; decision makers and other end users 3- Identify (*) opportunities, resources to be mobilized at the national and regional scales

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 The objectives Medium Term (within 2 years): 1- Establish an Inventory on country basis of the currently available long-term climate records in digital form (temperature, precipitation, air pressure) and the longest and key climate records to be recovered 2- Set up a common website for inventorying the current available climate data and the potential data to be recovered on a national basis

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 Structure of the Workshop 5 sessions SESSION I: Emphasizing Needs for DARE Projects SESSION II: Existing Regional initiatives and datasets SESSION III: Reviewing National Mediterranean DARE projects SESSION IV: Working group session :WG1 and WG2 WG1 Techniques, methods and inventory WG2 Resource Mobilization and Web Portal SESSION V: Presentation of WG conclusions and Recommendations End Friday 13:00

International Workshop on Rescue and Digitization of Climate Records Tarragona, Spain Nov.2007 THANK YOU