Reducing disaster risk through climate services
By Filipe Domingos Freires Lúcio
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Advances in climate science make it increasingly possible to generate seasonal and other medium-term predictions about climate variability. Knowing that a few months from now the climate will probably be wetter or drier than usual, or hotter or colder, allows decision-makers to prepare more effectively for the most likely disaster risks. At the same time, scientists can now better assess the vulnerabilities and risks facing a particular region over the coming decades as a result of greenhouse-gas-induced climate change.
These longer term scenarios can be used to minimize disaster risks through better informed urban planning, infrastructure investment, and development policies. This session will explore specific ways that climate services can provide cross-cutting information and predictions to reduce disaster risk.
Filipe Lúcio is director of the Global Framework for Climate Services, and takes a particular interest on weather and climate services and their application to disaster risk reduction and other climate sensitive areas.
Read Filipe Lúcio’s full editorial on Preventionweb Expert Services (www.preventionweb.net/experts/guest/collection/41013)
Advances in climate science make it increasingly possible to generate seasonal and other medium-term predictions about climate variability. Knowing that a few months from now the climate will probably be wetter or drier than usual, or hotter or colder, allows decision-makers to prepare more effectively for the most likely disaster risks. At the same time, scientists can now better assess the vulnerabilities and risks facing a particular region over the coming decades as a result of greenhouse-gas-induced climate change.