IRI Weather Updates

Important Guidance and Resources for Forecast-Based Decision Making

Download here a document offering further background information on La Niña, seasonal forecast interpretation, connecting forecasts with appropriate actions, and resources for forecast monitoring and decision-making support.

Please find below the La Niña updates based on the IRI seasonal forecasts:

• Global, Pacific and Asia La Niña updates 19 January 2012
• Global, Pacific and Asia La Niña updates 20 December 2011
• Global, Pacific and Asia La Niña updates 17 November 2011
• Global, Pacific and Asia La Niña updates 20 October 2011
• Global, Pacific and Asia La Niña updates 15 September 2011
• Regional La Niña update 18 August 2011 (pdf, 354 kB)
• Regional La Niña update 21 July 2011 (pdf, 219 kB)
• Regional La Niña update 16 June 2011 (pdf, 233 kB)
• Regional La Niña update 19 May 2011
• Regional La Niña update 21 April 2011
• Regional La Niña update 17 March 2011
• Regional La Niña update 17 February 2011
• Regional La Niña update 20 January 2011 (pdf, 229 kB).
• Regional La Niña update 16 December 2010.
• Regional La Niña update 18 November 2010. The part concerning the Americas can be downloaded in Spanish here (pdf, 186 kB).
• Regional La Niña update 1 November 2010. 
• Regional La Niña update 21 September 2010. In Spanish (partly).
• Regional La Niña update 31 August 2010. In Spanish.

IRI Policy brief

Humanitarian actors are shifting from a response paradigm toward policies and strategies that include preparedness and prevention. In parallel, climate actors (e.g. meteorological services and climate scientists) are reorganizing around the concept of climate services, which aims to inform development, adaptation and disaster risk management through improved use of climate information. Humanitarian and climate actors share a common objective of protecting lives and livelihoods, which can best be realized by collaboration. These partnerships are essential to ensuring that climate information needs are identified, met and communicated effectively to result in better informed action. These cases and lessons are captured in this policy brief (pdf, 1 MB), a product of collaboration between the IRI, IFRC, WFP, OCHA, CCAFS and NOAA.
 

Climate & Society No. 3: A Better Climate for Disaster Risk Management

Climate-related disasters are by far the most frequent natural disasters, exacting a heavy toll on people and economies. Their frequency and economic losses have steadily increased over the past few decades, stretching the response capacities of governments and humanitarian organizations. One of the many ways this challenge can be addressed is by making more effective use of the increasing wealth of climate information and tailoring it to the needs of those who could use it, to better predict and prepare for such disasters before they occur. Written in partnership with a range of humanitarian organizations, A Better Climate for Disaster Risk Management is the third in the Climate and Society Publication series. This issue highlights recent advances in the use of climate information to manage risks and improve livelihoods, such as new partnerships and user-designed information platforms.

Go here for the complete issue .

IRI Series 'Managing Risk in a Changing Climate'

• Part 1: Making the Case
• Part 2: Obstacles
• Part 3: forthcoming

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

On 18 November 2011, the IPCC released the Summary for Policy Makers of the new Special Report on Extremes (SREX). This report, approved by all governments in the UN,  summarizes best scientific knowledge on (i) how climate change affects weather extremes, now and in the future (ii) how these extremes result in disasters (iii) how those changing risks should be managed. Maarten van Aalst, director of the Climate Centre, contributed to the SREX report as a Coordinating Lead Author to the IPCC. The full SREX report will be available in early 2012. Here you can find various materials and links relating to the IPCC's new SREX.

Reports on Climate Change Assessment

In 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report of four volumes, giving a  comprehensive and rigorous picture of the global state of knowledge on climate change. Part 1 discusses the physical science basis of climate change. Part 2 addresses the climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. It underlines key concerns of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Part 3, the final part of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, is based on the assessment carried out by the three Working Groups. It provides an integrated view of climate change.

For a brief explanation of the IPCC report click here (pdf, 32 kB).

• The IPCC working group 1 report : The physical science basis of climate change
• The IPCC working group 2 report : Climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability
• The IPCC synthesis report (pdf, 923 kB): summary for policy makers

Climate change in Africa: changes in extreme weather under global warming (research)

Many of the impacts of climate change will materialize through changes in extreme events such as droughts, floods, and storms. Such extremes result in severe human suffering, and hamper economic development and poverty reduction. Unfortunately, assessments of climate change are often limited to mean temperature and precipitation. Knowledge of changes in extremes is sparse, particularly for Africa. This web site presents results of such analyses for various parts of Africa, using the best climate models from the upcoming IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
Read more .

National and Regional Information Providers on Climate Change Projections, medium and short term forecasts

Please click here (pdf, 87 kB) to access a list of information on national and regional scientific information providers.