- News from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society

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Climate and Food Security in the Horn of Africa

Last year, the Horn of Africa suffered one of the worst drought-related food crises in decades. The current rainy season there is off to a poor start, and fear of famine once again looms large for the region. Using observations and climate model simulations, IRI researchers have found that East Africa’s March-May rainfall declined abruptly starting in 1999, and that this decline is linked to surface-temperature changes in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
Full story and video.

Weather and Climate Information for
Climate Resilient Development

Under a new four-year agreement with the US Agency for International Development, we’re developing and
mainstreaming innovative climate services to inform decision
making and help vulnerable communities anticipate, plan for, and effectively respond to droughts, floods and other climate-related impacts. Download the partnership flyer to learn more.

Addressing Poverty and Inequality

Under the guidance of IRI's Walter Baethgen, a group of 20 Fulbright scholars spent the last year conducting multidisciplinary, team-based research to address poverty and inequality issues in creative, market-driven and socially responsible ways. Baethgen was the Lead Scholar in Fulbright's new NEXUS Program, which funds junior scientists, professionals and mid-career applied researchers from the Western Hemisphere for year of collaboration meant to influence policy in the areas of science, technology and innovation; entrepreneurship; and sustainable energy.

Watch a video about the program, including an interview with Baethgen here, and visit here to read about the work of Raúl Vázquez Zambrano, who spent two months at IRI working with Andrew Robertson on using climate information for improving water resources management in Ecuador.

Spring Springing Early, Should We Worry?
Last month was the warmest March ever recorded in the U.S, according to the National Weather Service. Here in the northeast U.S., we saw daffodils, tulips and the other colorful banners of spring unfurl a few weeks earlier than usual.

Visit the Earth Institute’s State of the Planet blog to watch an interview with Robert Naczi from The New York Botanical Garden on early spring blooms and their impacts on ecosystems, and read what IRI’s chief forecaster, Tony Barnston, has to say about the climate factors that gave us the unseasonably mild weather.

IRI IN THE NEWS

Poor spring rain projected on continent. (AllAfrica.com). view

Weather Journal: Reflecting on Record Warmth. (The Wall Street Journal). view

Monsoon forecast may be delayed (Business Standard). view

CURRENT SEASONAL RAINFALL FORECAST

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.