#WorldMetDay: Climate Knowledge for Climate Action

Today is World Meteorological Day, this year themed Climate Knowledge for Climate Action. Since this is basically the name of our game here at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, we thought we’d share some of our recent, related activities.

Working with the World Meteorological Organization

Earlier this month, Rupa Kumar Kolli, Chief of the World Climate Applications and Services Division at the World Meteorological Organization, visited the IRI. While he was here, we asked him about the partnership between WMO and IRI:

Enhancing National Climate Services – ENACTS

This initiative, led by Tufa Dinku, aims to provide reliable and readily accessible climate data at high resolution to decision makers in Africa. Many areas of the world do not enjoy the long climate data records that are freely accessible online in places like the U.S.

ENACTS works to improve the available data and provide easy access to information users. Another critical component of ENACTS is that the process is user-led, ensuring that climate information produced builds capacity and empowers decision makers to apply the information with confidence. Read more in the factsheet.

Chile Water Management

This video tells the story about the drought-stricken Elqui River Valley in Chile. In this already very dry region, every drop of water is critical. IRI’s Walter Baethgan explains why this project had all the right ingredients for success – investing in research to begin the process (which resulted in improved seasonal rainfall forecasts), collaboration with people like hydrologists who would use better climate information, and the ability to connect the research with the applied decisions via a water model. Once that connection was made, actionable information was produced for the right people to make better decisions.

Climate Tools for Climate Action

The Climate Predictability Tool is used to make forecasts at regional Climate Outlook Forums around the world — including this one in the Caribbean last year.

Tools like our Data Library and Climate Predictability Tool are used for climate-informed decision making around the world, and they are constantly updated based on feedback from users. On a seasonal timescale, much of the skill of forecasting products comes from the predictability of ENSO, which you can learn much more about here.