India is planning a ‘decadal forecast’ system along the lines of the United Kingdom’s Meteorological Office to ensure better predictability in the climate time scale. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) made this announcement at the sidelines of the 6th International Conference on Climate Services (ICCS) at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune in February 2020.
Decadal Forecasts System
Decadal forecasts system is the climate forecasts that extend existing seasonal forecasts to the multi-year and decadal timescales. The system would be explored as a research programme by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, along with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and other entities. It will be using a coupled climate model by utilising signals, emanating from deep oceans to predict decadal climate changes.
The need of such a system becomes pressing because of the rising number of extreme weather events.
There are many gaps in understanding regional climate variability and its connections to global phenomena like Indian Ocean Dipole. Indian forecasters face a challenge in maintaining the quality of climate observations. Researchers need to develop applications for specific sectors, based on the available climate forecast.
The system would initially function for long-range forecasting at the national level and the model would later be applied to the state or even district-level.
For More Information: International Conference on Climate Services
International Conference on Climate Services (ICCS) is the world’s premiere climate services event, organised jointly by the Global Framework for Climate Services. It began in 2011, with the Climate Services Partnership itself, launched at the first ICCS in New York.
It is an international effort, coordinated by the World Meteorological Organisation and the Climate Services Partnership. Financial support is provided under the U.K. Department for International Development, Asia Regional Resilience to a Changing Climate (ARRCC) Programme, and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
Climate Services Partnership
The Climate Services Partnership (CSP) is a platform, which shares knowledge and collaborates to promote resilience, and advances climate service capabilities worldwide.
It is an informal and interdisciplinary network of climate information users, providers, donors, and researchers who share an interest in climate services and are actively involved in the climate services community. Climate services involve the production, translation, transfer, and use of climate knowledge and information in climate-informed decision-making and climate-smart policy and planning.
These services ensure that the best available climate science is effectively communicated with agriculture, water, health, and other sectors, to develop and evaluate adaptation strategies. They also allow society to build resilience to future change and take advantage of opportunities, provided by favourable conditions.
Global Producing Centres for Long-range Forecasts
Global Producing Centres for Long-range Forecasts has been set up by the World Meteorological Organization, and forms an integral part of the WMO Global Data-processing and Forecasting System (GDPFS). Coordinated by the U.K. Met office for annual to decadal projections, it provides global scale information.