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The IRI will be hosting a panel event at this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Durban, South Africa from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9. The panelists will discuss the recent creation of the Climate Services Partnership, which was the main outcome of the recent International Conference on Climate Services. The event runs from 1:00-2:30 p.m. local time (6:00-7:30 a.m. EST) on Tuesday, Nov. 29. For more information, download the flier here.
You can also watch the event live from here: http://conx.state.gov/digital-diplomacy/
Other side events with IRI participation:
Insurance approaches for weather-related risks in Africa
Date: December 2, 9-11 a.m. Location: Africa Pavilion. IRI’s Haresh Bhojwani presents.
Roundtable on Climate Change Information and Water Resources in Africa
Date: December 3, 1-3 p.m. Location: Africa Pavilion. IRI’s Haresh Bhojwani presents.
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Recent IRI activities in Africa
The IRI and Ethiopia’s National Meteorological Agency have created an unprecedented 30-year time series of rainfall and temperature data that cover the entire country. This was possible thanks to innovative methods developed by IRI’s Tufa Dinku, which combine rain-gauge measurements and satellite estimates [background story and video]. The publishing of this publicly-available, comprehensive data set has significant implications for planning in health, agriculture, water and other sectors. It also provides a promising template for improving climate services throughout Africa. The work was made possible thanks to a grant from Google.org. We’ll be writing more about this soon!
Drought-hit farmers in Ethiopia saw a bit of relief this month, thanks to an innovative microinsurance program run by Oxfam America, Swiss Re and the IRI. The organizations recently announced that nearly 1,900 farmers who bought weather insurance have received a payout—the first in the project's history. Each will get a share of the total $17,392 in payouts. Read the full story.
Climate and public-health expert Madeleine Thomson discusses the immediate and inter-generational health challenges East African societies face because of prolonged malnutrition caused by the famine. See these, and the rest of our videos about the crisis in the Horn of Africa on our multimedia page.
The International Research Institute for Climate and Society was established as a cooperative agreement between
the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Program Office and Columbia University.
It is part of The Earth Institute, Columbia University.