An international coalition has been formed to help developing countries improve their weather forecasting, hydrological and climate services.
Known as the Alliance for Hydromet Development the coalition was announced last week on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain. Hydromet services include weather forecasts and early warning systems, as well as water, hydrological and climate services.
The 12 founding members of the alliance include international development banks such as the Islamic Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank and a number of UN agencies including the World Food Programme and the WMO.
WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas said, “Ambitious climate action requires countries to be equipped with the most reliable warnings and best available climate information services. Many developing countries are facing capacity constraints to provide these services. The Alliance is the vehicle to collectively scale-up our support to the most vulnerable.”
The Alliance has identified four key areas where they plan to focus their collective efforts: The first is improvements in systematic weather observations. The second is strengthening countries’ capacity for science-based mitigation and adaptation planning.
The third involves improving early warning systems and the fourth will focus on developing larger-scale programmatic approaches that go beyond individual projects.