Theme:

Climate services

"Useable" knowledge and information about climate change is crucial for climate action.

In order to be successful, adaptation strategies need to make use of the best available climate information, including assessments of recent climatic trends and projected future climate change that may be experienced in the years to come. 

The climate information needed by local level communities and national governments includes how climate variables such as temperature and rainfall, and the timing and severity of storms and climate extremes may change. In order to be both useful and used, this information needs to be timely, high quality, relevant and accessible. Meeting these needs is the focus of an emerging field called climate services, which aims to bridge the gap between climate science, policy and practice for adaptation decision-making and disaster resilience.

This theme provides some basic climate science background, guidance for understanding and using climate data, insights for effectively communicating climate change, research and examples of how climate information can be integrated into decision-making across levels, and knowledge for the design, implementation and evaluation of effective climate services. You can use the Tandem online guidance for the co-design of climate services  tool to take an interactive journey through climate services resources on weADAPT.

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Category:

Climate Science

Climate change is impacting different regions and systems in different ways. This category contains key resources, including official reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that provide the latest insights on how climate change is happening and the impacts it is having on the world. It also contains background and introductory articles on climate science, including on how climate change projections are produced and interpreted.

Aerial view of a green island with white sand and blue ocean
Article

Reflections on the IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report: adaptation, loss and damage

Join three SEI researchers, who have assumed various roles in past IPCC reports, as they reflect on the IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report’s critical messages on adaptation and loss and damage.

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IPCC Report - flooding. Getty Images
Article

Q&A: Francis X. Johnson on the IPCC Synthesis Report

Read this Q&A on the Synthesis Report of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report – its significance, highlights and next steps, by Francis X. Johnson, SEI Senior Research Fellow and member of the Extended Writing Team.

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the globe in light red next to our possible climate futures
Article

IPCC WG1 Interactive Atlas

Explore observed and projected climate change information in this novel tool developed by the UN IPCC. Use the regional information component to generate global climate maps, and the regional synthesis tab to get qualitative information about changes in climatic impact-drivers.

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Atmosphere, ocean and land surface processes simulated in GCMs (source: US National Climate Assessment 2014)
Article

Climate Models: What They Show Us and How They Can Be Used in Planning

Explore this guide from the Future Climate For Africa programme which provides a primer on global climate models (GCMs) and how to use them in planning.

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Several women carry yellow water buckets against a sunset
Article

The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report: Impacts, Adaptation Options and Investment Areas for a Climate-Resilient Central Africa

Discover what the IPCC AR6 says about how Central Africa will be impacted by climate change and its options and potential for adaptation. 

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a man on a bike next to dogs stands in front of the great mud mosque in Mali
Article

Fact Sheet: The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report: Impacts, Adaptation Options and Investment Areas for a Climate-Resilient West Africa

Learn about what the IPCC AR6 says about how West Africa will be impacted by climate change and its options and potential for adaptation. 

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Article

The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report: Impacts, Adaptation Options and Investment Areas for a Climate-Resilient Southern Africa

This factsheet summarises what the IPCC AR6 says about how Southern Africa will be impacted by climate change and its options and potential for adaptation. 

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News

Is the New IPCC Report a Game Changer for Adaptation? SEI's Response to AR6 WGII

Read SEI's response to the IPCC AR6 WGII report exploring what's new, what's missing and whether it is a game changer for adaptation.

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an image of the IPCC WGII report cover
Article

The IPCC's 6th Assessment Report: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability - Summary for Policymakers

Explore the key findings and further resources from Working Group II's contribution to the IPCC's sixth climate report. 

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A man looking at the weather
Article

Near-term warming and our chances of staying within 1.5°C of global warming

Depending on how the climate system responds, greenhouse gas emissions could still cause more - or less - warming than the best estimates from the latest climate models.  

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Peru high mountains: mountain peaks covered in snow and clouds
Article

The IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate: What’s in it for Latin America?

This publication offers a guide to the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and the Ocean and Cryosphere, prepared for decision-makers in Latin America by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericano and SouthSouthNorth (SSN). This is not an official IPCC publication.

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 The slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania near Amboseli with a wooden settlement in the foreground
Article

The IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate: What’s in it for Africa?

This publication offers a guide to the IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, prepared for decision-makers in Africa by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and SouthSouthNorth (SSN). This is not an official IPCC publication.

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 Gokyo Lake, Nepal: a mountain range with a bright turquoise lake in between two peaks
Article

The IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate: What’s in it for South Asia?

This publication offers a guide to the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and the Ocean and Cryosphere, prepared for decision-makers in South Asia by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), ICLEI-South Asia and SouthSouthNorth (SSN). This is not an official IPCC publication.

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Article

CSAG Climate Frontiers Podcast Series

Listen to this series of podcasts hosted by the Climate Systems Analysis Group (CSAG) at the University of Cape Town. These are conversations between researchers and partners across Africa and globally, covering a range of topics from climate science to social science and philosophy.

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IPCC logo
Article

The IPCC's 6th Assessment Report Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis

The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from palaeoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.

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Growing beans, Western Nepal
Article

The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land: What’s in it for South Asia?

This publication offers a guide to the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land prepared for decision makers in South Asia by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), ICLEI-South Asia and SouthSouthNorth. This is not an official IPCC publication.

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Coffee grower in Bolivia
Article

The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land: What’s in it for Latin America?

This publication offers a guide to the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land prepared for decision makers in Latin America by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Overseas Development Institute(ODI), Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericano and SouthSouthNorth. This is not an official IPCC publication.

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Image: © Ralf Steinberger | Mali women pounding cereals.
Article

The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land: What’s in it for Africa?

This publication offers a guide to the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land prepared for decision-makers in Africa by the CDKN, ODI and SSN. This is not an official IPCC publication.

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climate change scenarios primer
Article

Climate Change Scenario Primer

This interactive primer explains what climate change scenarios are and how they are connected to socioeconomics, energy and land use, emissions, climate change and climate impacts.

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Building capacity for risk management in a changing climate
Article

Building capacity for risk management in a changing climate

This Raising Risk Awareness (RRA) project analyses the role of climate change in affecting the hydrological regimes of Kenya, Ethiopia, India and Bangladesh. 

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Figure SPM.5 from page 9 of the IPCC AR5 Summary for Policymakers
Article

10 Things to Know About the IPCC Scenario Framework

This article looks at the meaning and purpose of scenarios in the current IPCC Framework and provides answers to 10 of the most frequently asked questions, written in an accessible style.

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Article

Do Projected Changes in Climate Vary from Region to Region?

IPCC FAQ 11.1 - This material is extracted from the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of the Fourth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Working Group 1

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IPCC 4th Assessment Report
Article

If Emissions of Greenhouse Gases are Reduced, How Quickly do Their Concentrations in the Atmosphere Decrease?

IPCC FAQ 10.3: This material is extracted from the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of the Fourth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Working Group 1

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IPCC 4th Assessment Report
Article

How Likely are Major or Abrupt Climate Changes, such as Loss of Ice Sheets or Changes in Global Ocean Circulation?

IPCC FAQ 10.2This material is extracted from the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of the Fourth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Working Group 1

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Category:

Accessing Managing and Using Climate Information

Climate information plays a central role in the planning and development of robust adaptation strategies at all levels, and in advising decision- or policy-makers on climate-sensitive matters. Here, you will find information on and examples of how to access, manage and use climate information, including an 8-step guidance on using the linked resources available in weADAPT and the Climate Information Portal (CIP) developed by the Climate Systems Analysis Group (CSAG), at the University of Cape Town, and information on how to use downscaled climate data and how to handle climate model uncertainty.

Fractal Cloud of Word
Article

Framework for needs-informed research: assessing climate processes

This paper presents a framework for needs-informed research aimed at understanding the climate processes driving the African climate system's natural variability and response to global change.

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understanding and interpreting global climate model results
Article

How to understand and interpret global climate model results

Guide targeted at decision-makers to enable them to interpret the various plots, graphs and maps that are used to present global climate model projections.

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Photo by Robert Wallace
Case Study

A guide to using CIP in analysing historical and future rainfall patterns

This is a theoretical case study representing a guide in how to use CIP in analysing historical and future rainfall patterns in the Swartland region in South Africa.

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farmer
Article

Accessing and Using Climate Data and Information in Fragile, Data-Poor States

This report provides peacebuilding practitioners with guidance for accessing and using climate data and information in fragile contexts.

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Climate guidance - step-by-step
Article

Using climate information to support adaptation planning and policy-making: A practical case study in Bagamoyo District, coastal Tanzania.

This case study in Bagamoyo District, Tanzania, highlights how climate information can be used to support adaptation planning and policy-making in the rural agricultral sector. 

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51cd6a470024c51c311638b1cfa-vegetable-farmer-in-philippi - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Using climate information to support adaptation planning and policy-making: Cape Town

A vegetable farmer in Philippi, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. Source: FLICKR/KOSMOSELEEVIKE This case study focuses on the climate dimensions of land use management and zoning in a suburb of...
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Climate guidance - step-by-step
Article

Using climate information to support adaptation planning and policy-making: A case study in Cape Town, South Africa

This case study in a suburb of the city of Cape Town, South Africa, highlights how climate information can be used to support land use management.

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Case Study

CIP-weADAPT integration continues with new dynamic visualisation of climate data

This month marks the launch of the new Climate Information Platform (CIP). In many ways the new platform has been a clean sheet redesign of many aspects of the old portal. One of the key changes has...
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climate data collection lake chilwa - climate adaptation.
Article

Climate Data Capture and Management in the Lake Chilwa Basin: Status, Challenges and Opportunities

This study analysed the capacity of 20 weather observation stations in providing reliable and adequate climate data for effective climate change adaptation in the Lake Chilwa Basin, Malawi.

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Case Study

Climate Data Capture and Management in the Lake Chilwa Basin: Status, Challenges and Opportunities

[Placemark] This study analysed the capacity of 20 weather observation stations in providing reliable and adequate climate data for effective climate change adaptation in the Lake Chilwa Basin.

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Article

Introduction to climate modelling

Climate Modelling Basically, climate modelling involves converting theories of atmospheric physics, solar radiation, phase state physics, etc. into mathematical formulas that can be solved by a...
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Article

Using downscaled climate data

Rainfall anomalies for Juba, South Sudan To develop suitable adaptation strategies it is important to build up an understanding of what the climate is in the area you are living in and/or working in...
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cip 0 - climate adaptation.
Article

The Climate Information Platform

This article provides a background to the Climate Information Platform, which replaces the Climate Change Explorer (CCE).

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Category:

Climate Change Communication

Effective climate communication is essential for increasing the awareness and acknowledgement of climate risks and the uptake of climate services, from helping communities understand how climate change will impact their lives to getting buy-in for climate-relevant initiatives from decision- and policy-makers across scales. The content included here provides good practice insights for how to communicate various aspects of climate change, such as how to communicate climate uncertainty and novel ways in which to convey climate impacts (e.g. the IMPACT@C web-atlas).

START Cast logo, consisting of three overlapping circles in varying shades of blue and green.
Article

FRACTAL Podcast Series - Exploring transdisciplinary approaches to support resilience and adaptation decision making

The STARTcast is a podcast created by START for early- and mid-career scientists. Listen to Season 2 on co-creating climate information with decision-makers for climate-resilient cities in southern Africa as part of the Future Resilience for African Cities and Lands (FRACTAL) project.

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Climate narratives cover picture
Article

Climate narratives: What have we tried? what have we learned? What does this mean for us going forward?

This briefing note provides reflections on the climate risk narrative process: What have we tried? What have we learned? What does this mean for us going forward?

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communicating drought risks in a changing climate
Article

Communicating Drought Risk in a Changing Climate

This new paper highlights 10 principles for communicating drought risks in a changing climate. 

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Welsh community helping rebuild after floods
Article

Communicating climate change adaptation: A practical guide to values based communication

This practical guide introduces the concept of values-based climate change communication for adaptation. 

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"Young voices" video presented at the 2019 European Climate Change Adaptation conference
Article

A youth's call for climate action – “Young Voices” video project

“Young voices” is an interactive and multimedia project: they produced a Call for action – young people's perspective on climate change video presented at the ECCA 2019.

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Women mapping climate action. Credit: Red Cross
Article

Communicating climate change: A practitioner’s guide

This guide will help you explain to colleagues or the broader public how the climate is changing and what they can do about it. It includes insights from working in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

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heat map hindu kush
Article

Mapping the stories of climate change

This article shows how the online platform Story Maps communicates climate change impacts and relevant adaptation measures in the Hindu Kush Himalaya to a wider audience to support action.

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communicating climate knowledge
Article

A Guide to the Science of Climate Change Communication

Information and practical exercises that will give you knowledge of the science of climate change communication, and the confidence to apply this knowledge in practice with non-academic audiences.

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Article

Learning from failures in communication: sharing lessons from research & practice workshop

This article captures the key findings from a workshop at ECCA 2017 that aimed to have open discussions around experiences with adaptation communication to share and learn from what hasn’t worked.

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cyclone
Article

Communicating climate change attribution: A toolkit for raising risk awareness

A new toolkit from the Raising Risk Awareness project aims to help journalists and communicators report on the linkages between climate change and extreme weather events.

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cloud
Article

Why Our Brains Ignore Climate Change - and What to Do About It

Per Espen Stoknes outlines the principal barriers and solutions to getting people to think long-term about climate change and to take action to reduce it.

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syria weadapt 40 - climate adaptation.
Article

Climate and Syria: did the media get it right?

During 2015 the media started connecting climate change with the conflict in Syria and subsequent refugee movements across Europe. This report looks at their appraoch and whether they got it right.

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Photo credit: Alanha Torralba, Greenpeace
Article

Climate Visuals – 7 Key Principles for Visual Climate Change Communication

This report summarises the research underpinning climatevisuals.org and presents the key findings so that practitioners can take an evidence-based approach to visual communication. 

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A farmer in Kenya using the P2P service WeFarm. Credit: Camilla Gordon and Kenny Ewan.
Article

Utilising Crowdsourced Knowledge to Enhance Resilience to El Nino

WeFarm's free SMS service enables farmers to receive locally relevant, crowdsourced information from other farmers without having to leave their farm or invest any money.

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Article

Building bridges and changing minds: Insights from climate communication research and practice

This brief synthesizes the “state of the art” on climate communication and highlights important questions and challenges that warrant further exploration, particularly regarding European policy

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impact2c - climate adaptation.
Article

The IMPACT2C web-atlas

The IMPACT2C web-atlas summarises in maps and texts the impact of global 2°C warming on Climate, Tourism, Energy, Health, Water, Coasts, Agriculture, Forests and Ecosystems.

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Copyright: Paul Townsend
Article

Communicating flood risks in a changing climate: nine principles for promoting public engagement

This guide and webinar is a resource for practitioners from field staff to policy makers to use when engaging the public around flooding and wider climate impacts. 

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weadapt
Article

Visualizing connections: Mapping the landscape of adaptation research and practice through weADAPT

This working paper describes a collaborative project to visually map climate change adaptation research and networks based on semantic tagging in weADAPT.        

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Article

The Uncertainty Handbook: A Practical Guide for Climate Change Communicators

The Uncertainty Handbook provides guidance on 12 practical and easy-to apply principles for smarter communication about climate change uncertainties.

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Article

Climaps - a Global Issue Atlas of Climate Change Adaptation

Climaps.eu is an online atlas providing data, visualizations and commentaries about the climate adaptation debate.

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Article

Our Valuable Voices: Community Digital Storytelling for Good Programming and Policy Engagement

This publication highlights the experience and lessons learned from a Community Digital Storytelling activity within the Integrated Community-based Adaptation in the Mekong (ICAM) Project.

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Digital storytelling
Case Study

Our Valuable Voices: Community Digital Storytelling for Good Programming and Policy Engagement

Read about the storytelling project with the Cham fisherwomen and men in Vietnam which was the first time CARE Vietnam had used Community Digital Storytelling.

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ICT in India
Article

Climate Change Adaptation: Services and Role of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in India

ICTs can play a crucial role in supporting public outreach, building a data base, creating awareness for the adaptation against the impact of climate change.

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Rural Nepal
Case Study

Using Mobile Phones to Reduce the Adversities of Climate Change in Rural Nepal

The initiative aims to build resilience by improving the livelihood assets of vulnerable communities, and the work reported here focuses on the rural communities around South-Central Nepal.

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Category:

Climate Information in Decision-Making

Factoring climate information into decision-making across scales is central to reducing vulnerability in the short, medium and long-term. This is particuarly the case in development strategies and planning, where the failure to include climate information in decision-making can result in lock-in to maladaptative pathways. The content included here looks at the use of climate information in decision-making, including how it is being used in decision-making, and how it can be mainstreamed into development planning. For more on relevant methods, tools and approaches see the Adaptation Decision Making theme and the Climate Knowledge Brokers network.

Participants in a Learning Lab exercise playing a game to explore water supply and sanitation issues in Lusaka.
Article

Supporting climate-resilient urban planning: 10 lessons from cities in southern Africa

This brief presents key insights on integrating climate information into climate change-related adaptation planning in African cities.

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Infrastructure
Article

Climate Services for Infrastructure Baseline Assessment Report for the Nile Basin Countries

This baseline comprises all available and desired Climate Service products for the water sector as well as an assessment of the state of the Climate Service infrastructure regarding the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services capacities and potential to generate useful and usable climate information products for water-related sectors.

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Infrastructure
Article

Climate Services in Germany: Stakeholders, Challenges and Factor of Success

This study is part of the CSI project and examines Climate Services in the German context. In particular, the Climate Service value chain is investigated and those stakeholders who play a decisive role as change agents in this area are highlighted. 

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a flooded city from above
Article

ZEROing IN on this critical decade for climate: Insights from the latest IPCC reports on the Paris Agreement, 1.5°C, and climate impacts

The latest ZERO IN report from the CONSTRAIN project dives into the science set out in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments.  It investigates what our climate future could look like, depending on whether we take action in line with the Paris Agreement, or decide to follow current national policies and plans.  

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Map of global distribution of publications by a) affiliation of authors and b) the country where the focus of the research was based
Article

Mapping the Evolution and Current Trends in Climate Change Adaptation Science

This study provides a review of climate change adaptation science literature that spans from the first publication in 1978 to mid-2020. It identifies the underpinning foundations, leading authors, countries and organisations, as well as dominant research themes and priorities, and explores how these have changed over time.

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Viet Nam
Case Study

Climate Services for a Resilient Infrastructure: Planning Perspectives for Sustainable future of Viet Nam

This article summarizes some initial findings of Viet Nam’s efforts and presents an innovative approach with 3 strategic measures.

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Flooding in the city
Article

Orientation Guide on Concepts, Terms and Definitions in the Context of Climate Services, Infrastructure Risk Assessment and Climate Risk Management

Explore the common concepts, terms, and definitions in the context of Climate Services, Infrastructure Risk Assessment, and Climate Risk Management through this guide. 

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Article

Building Climate Resilience in Africa Through Research and Development

This article provides an evaluation of the Future Climate for Africa programme (2015-2021), which has brought together more than 200 researchers from over 20 countries to improve understanding of climate variability and change across Africa. 

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Learning Lab participants
Article

FRACTAL Principles

Throughout the FRACTAL project, the team determined several lessons for research and society, particularly with regard to working towards inclusive, contextual, and proactive climate research and action. Engage with the principles that underpinned the climate resilience work in the project. 

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Windhoek, Namibia.
Article

Co-producing climate information for Windhoek decision making

This working paper provides an overview of a project that sought to co-produce, communicate and share climate change information to improve decision-making processes for adaptation in Windhoek, Namibia.

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A village in Kenya
Article

Enabling Climate Science Use to Better Support Resilience and Adaptation Practice

This report reviews the use of climate science in adaptation and resilience practice. It was commissioned by the UK government to inform the development of a new programme. 

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Fractal logo
Article

Climate Information Distillation: what is it and why do we need a framework?

This briefing note presents a distillation framework: an attempt to re-think how we go about constructing information to inform decisions. 

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flooded playground
Article

Ten ways to support climate change adaptation planning and decision-making

This brief, developed by researchers and facilitators working with municipal governments, provides targeted recommendations for co-designing actionable and user-focused climate services.

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Climate change temperature map of the world
Article

Learning within & about climate science: What has transdisciplinary engagement through FRACTAL taught us?

This briefing note provides key discussion points on the role of learning in integrating climate science into decision making. 

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FRACTAL
Article

Co-exploratory climate risk workshops: Experiences from urban Africa

The paper describes a place-based co-exploratory analysis of climate risks.

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Cover page of Energy Sector Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Note: child smiling drinking water from a hand water pump
Article

Energy Sector Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Note

This guidance aims to help incorporate climate change considerations into project planning and design in the energy sector.

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Cover page of Water Sector Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Note: child smiling drinking water from a hand water pump the
Article

Water Sector Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Note

This guidance aims to help incorporate climate change considerations into project planning and design in the water sector.

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Cover page of Transport Sector Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Note: highway junction with little traffic
Article

Transport Sector Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Note

This guidance aims to help incorporate climate change considerations into project planning and design in the transport sector.

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Cover page of Agriculture & Rural Development Sector Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Note
Article

Agriculture & Rural Development Sectors Climate Change Adaptation Guidance Note

This guidance aims to help incorporate climate change considerations into project planning and design in the agriculture & rural development sectors.

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Climate risk management
Article

Climate Risk Management Framework for India: Addressing Loss and Damage (L&D)

The CRM framework sets out a structured process to assess climate risks and develop various risk management measures at both national and state level. 

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African Climate Risks Conference 2019
Article

African Climate Risks Conference 2019 - Conference Report

Future Climate for Africaorganised the first African Climate Risks Conferenceon 7-9 October, 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This report provides an overview of discussions during the conference.

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Swedish forest image
Article

Joint knowledge production for improved climate services: Insights from the Swedish forestry sector

This paper identifies enablers/barriers to successful science‐stakeholder collaboration, making recommendations to achieve participatory processes in the Swedish forestry sector.

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The PICSA Approach
Case Study

An investigation of the effects of PICSA on smallholder farmers’ decision-making and livelihoods when implemented at large scale – The case of Northern Ghana

This case study analyses the affect of the PICSA approach on smallholder farmer's decision-making and livelihoods when implemented at large scale in Northern Ghana.

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PICSA Approach
Article

The PICSA Approach

Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) is a collaborative project aimed to support farmers with locally relevant weather and climate information.

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Category:

Designing Delivering and Evaluating Effective Climate Services

Climate services involve the timely production, tailoring, translation and transfer of climate information, ensuring that the most relevant knowledge is effectively communicated, easily accessed and interpreted in order to develop policies and evaluate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The content provided here provides insights and guidance into how to deliver climate services that take into account user needs and that use highly participatory methods to co-produce and co-evaluate the service, ensuring that the information and process is truely tailored, and thereby of maximum benefit, to the user.

Take an interactive journey through these and other climate services resources with the Tandem online guidance for the co-design of climate services.

Image of interconnected globe, taken from front page of report
Article

Co-production of Climate Services - A Diversity of Approaches and Good Practices from the ERA4CS Projects (2017-2021)

Learn about the joint effort of projects funded under the European Research Area for Climate Services (ERA4CS) in this guide. It discusses good practice examples based on the review of the ERA4CS projects, identifying enablers and barriers for key elements in climate service co-production processes. 

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Map of FRACTAL partner cities with Tier 1 cities highlighted.
Article

Climate risk narratives: An iterative reflective process for co-producing and integrating climate knowledge

This article introduces the concept of Climate Risk Narratives (CRNs), their origin, and their evolution through a trans-disciplinary engaged research activity around urban climate resilience. 

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Stockholm
Article

Co-designing climate services to support adaptation to natural hazards: two case studies from Sweden

Drawing on two Swedish case studies, this brief aims to understand how the co-design of climate services can support adaptation planning and decision-making.

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Water in Karlstad
Case Study

Co-designing climate services to support adaptation to natural hazards: a case study from Karlstad, Sweden

This case study describes how the co-design of climate services helped support adaptation to multiple water hazards in the municipality of Karlstad, Sweden.

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Stockholm
Case Study

Co-designing climate services to support adaptation to natural hazards: a case study from Stockholm, Sweden

This case study describes how the co-design of climate services helped support adaptation to heat waves in Stockholm, Sweden

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Constituent elements of the Tandem framework, from p.11 of the publication.
Article

Refocusing the climate services lens: Introducing a framework for co-designing “transdisciplinary knowledge integration processes” to build climate resilience

This paper seeks to reconceptualize climate services in light of the prevailing inability of existing climate information to spur needed policy and action. It focusses on the transdisciplinary knowledge co-production process rather than the output of a climate services product.

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Stakeholder engagement
Article

A Critical Reflection on Learning from Future Climate for Africa

This article takes stock of the lessons emerging from FCFA’s collective experience in undertaking transdisciplinary research that can be used to inform future investments on climate and development.

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Article

PARTNERS IN SCIENCE: How the People Who Should Benefit from Research Are Increasingly Shaping How It Is Done

Community-based participatory research has been gaining traction for the past two decades. Nature talked to three research groups that have built successful co-produced projects with this approach.

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Hands in blue gloves touching an okra plant
Case Study

Improving the co-production of climate services for agriculture: a case study from Nigeria

This case study aimed to strengthen capacities of farmers and government officials to understand and share climate information and best practices to inform agricultural decision-making in Nigeria.

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UNDP environment and energy
Article

Revenue-Generating Opportunities Through Tailored Weather Information Products

This continental-scale market assessment investigated how thriving commercial weather markets could be catalysed in the 11 African countries supported by the CIRDA programme.

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tandem bicycle
Article

The Tandem framework: a holistic approach to co-designing climate services

The Tandem framework provides a holistic approach for the co-design of climate services. The seven-step approach is designed to help scientists, intermediaries and decision-makers collaborate.

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codevelopment of climate knowledge
Article

Lessons and practice of co-developing climate services with users

This report shares experiences and summarises lessons learned from Climateurope project partners on how to foster co-development of climate services between providers and users.

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communication
Article

Climate Information & Early Warning Systems Communications Toolkit

Learn to issue and package early warnings and create integrated communications strategies that support the value proposition for climate information, weather forecasts and NMHS in Africa.

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Fresh fish just landed for sale on the beach, Kayar, Senegal. Photo by Anne Delaporte, 2011
Article

Closing the Gap between Climate Information Producers and Users: Assessment of Needs and Uptake in Senegal

This study analyzed experiences and lessons learned in Senegal, where various climate information services products attempted to effectively involve producers, technicians and policy‐makers.

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Garden Wall Weather Station in Glacier National Park, USA. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
Article

Delivering Climate Services: Organizational Strategies and Approaches for Producing Useful Climate-Science Information

This paper reports on research that evaluated how three Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments produced useful climate information for improved decision support in a variety of sectors.

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Article

Co-producing climate knowledge – Great in theory, but how about practice?

'Co-production’ of climate knowledge is far from easy to achieve in practice. This article looks at what we mean by 'co-production', the challenges involved, and how we can move forward.

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© Blane Harvey
Article

Designing Knowledge Coproduction for Climate and Development

This paper explores the ways climate and development researchers are using knowledge co-production approaches and the extent to which the approaches are reaching their potential.

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Farming in Malawi
Article

Identifying climate services needs for national planning: insights from Malawi

This article identifies the opportunities and barriers to the use of climate services for national planning in Malawi.

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climate exercise
Article

What makes a good climate service? Learning from practice

From texts about pests to climate podcasts for women farmers, this article provides the lessons learnt, useful examples and insights from panellists at a COP22 event co-hosted by SEI.

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cameroon
Article

The SEI Initiative on Climate Services

This initiative is developing and testing a new framework - Tandem - for the improved co-design, use and interpretation of climate services. 

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Article

Climate information and services in BRACED countries

This paper summarises and assesses existing weather and climate information for BRACED programme countries, including existing climate services and problems in the use of the available information.

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rory hunter - ausaid 1 - climate adaptation.
Article

The changing role of NGOs in supporting climate services

This report examines the evolving role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the production, communication and uptake of climate information.

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Article

Sharing Learning on Climate Services in East and Southern Africa

A learning event held in February 2016, in Nairobi, shared good practices and key challenges associated with providing climate and weather information services.  

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schoolgirl in sandy village
Article

Using climate information to achieve long-term development objectives in coastal Ghana and Mozambique

This policy brief describes a ‘co-exploration’ approach to identifying climate change adaptation needs in Accra, Ghana, and Maputo, Mozambique.

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Category:

Capacity Building for Climate Services

Strengthening user's confidence in climate services and their own ability to interpret and use them is key to achieving greater individual and collective engagement with climate services, the mainstreaming of climate information in decision-making and for obtaining buy-in to support the developmnent of climate services. The content included here provides insights into, and methods for capacity building for climate services across levels. Additional resources specific to building knowledge brokering capacities can be found in the Climate Knowledge Brokers network.

Windhoek city stakeholders participating in the co-exploring language activity.
Article

"Explainer" Guide: Co-exploring Terminologies

This brief explains why co-exploring language and terminology is important for creating a level playing field at the beginning of a multi-stakeholder engagement.​

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Paddy field observation during Climate Field School in Baruga Village, Kendari. Photo by Mohammad Fadli for USAID APIK
Case Study

Equipping Farmers with Climate and Weather Knowledge for More Resilient Agriculture

This story explains how, in an era of increasing meteorological and hydrological uncertainty, climate and weather information systems (CWIS) can play an important role in helping farmers.

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SCD
Article

Barriers and opportunities for scientific capacity development on climate change in Africa

This study highlights barriers to and opportunities for robust scientific capacity development systems in diverse African contexts.

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FCFA project logo
Article

IMPALA: Improving Model Processes For African Climate

The project aims to improve the ability of climate models to capture African climate systems, and thereby better enable decision-makers in Africa to use climate information.

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workshop
Article

Using communicators to reach farmers with climate information services

A collaborative project trains communicators to disseminate climate information services and advisories to smallholder farmers.

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5062e8e43178ascreen-shot-2012-09-26-at-12 - climate adaptation.
Article

Weathering Climate Change in Maharashtra, India

Agriculture is weather dependent at the local level. Yet, currently, farmers do not have access to reliable locally relevant meteorological and agricultural information by which to plan and manage...
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5093de6004476tiempo-front-cover - climate adaptation.
Article

Receiving technology in adaptation projets

Introduction The process of adaptation (to climate variability and change) involves a change in behaviour and consequently a shift in activities as a result of changing (environmental) conditions. To...
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Category:

Climate Services Initiatives

Climate services are varied in their structure and objectives. Here you will find different examples of climate services projects, alongside details including how and why they have been developed, the lessons that have been learnt during this process and the outcomes that have been achieved.

CLIMAP portal
Article

CLIMAP portal: online climate tool to support Senegalese agricultural planning

A new online climate tool, the CLIMAP portal, has been developed to help support agricultural planning in Senegal. 

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Women pick tea leaves in Malawi in 2016
Case Study

Malawi heatwaves threaten tea yields and livelihoods

The recent heatwave in Malawi has led to consecutive days with very high temperatures. This is exactly the scenario that tea growers fear. The CI4Tea project aims to support tea farmers to adapt.

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The Gambia agriculture
Case Study

Strengthening of The Gambia's Climate Change Early Warning System

This project built climate forecasting systems across Gambia and supported the transition of Gambia's National Meteorological Services (NMS) towards becoming financially sustainable.

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Farming in Rwanda
Case Study

Early Warning Climate Forecasting in Rwanda

This project built an early warning climate system to help farmers prepare in advance for extreme weather in Rwanda.

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Fig. 2. Map of the Caribbean with CAMI countries highlighted.
Article

A framework for climate services evaluation and its application to the Caribbean Agrometeorological Initiative

This paper describes an elaborated logic model to structure the evaluation of a climate services program, which is demonstrated in a case study of the Caribbean Agrometeorological Initiative (CAMI).

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wheat
Case Study

Improving wheat productivity in Kazakhstan through the identification of best sowing intervals

Soil moisture and temperature are critical to seed survival. This method, developed by a joint USAID-UNDP project, determines the best intervals for sowing wheat using meteorological data.

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53466958512705343d130ad7e9asia-s-tsunami-sri-lanka-photo-essays-time - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Indian Ocean Early Warning System (SRI LANKA)

Impact of tsunami in Sri lanka ©John Stanmeyer Project description Implementing community based early warning in Sri Lanka in collaboration with regional partners, SEI is undertaking a participatory...
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5343c899867abthialand-tsunami - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Indian Ocean Early Warning System (THAILAND)

Image showing tsunami hazard zone and evacuation map Project description Implementing community based early warning in Thailand, in collaboration with regional partners, SEI is undertaking a...
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Category:

Regional Climate Change Projections and Impact Analyses

Global warming is resulting in climate change that is not homogenous across the globe but that has a high degree of spatial variability, impacting different regions in very different ways. The climate change analyses included here show the geographical diversity of climate change projections, and what impacts might be expected in different regions. To see related work on vulnerability assessments, approaches and methods, including impacts on sectors, see the Vulnerability theme.

malawi climate change
Article

Future Climate Projections for Malawi

This brief provides an overview of future climate change in Malawi, using results from the latest available climate model simulations based on 34 global climate models (CMIP-5) used by the IPCC.

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climate projections for tanzania
Article

Future Climate Projections for Tanzania

This brief provides an overview of future climate change in Tanzania, using results from the latest available climate model simulations based on 34 global climate models (CMIP-5) used by the IPCC.

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Phalodi, India
Case Study

Science Summary: Heat wave in Phalodi, India, 19 May 2016

On Thursday 19 May 2016, the Indian city of Phalodi reached 51°C. The Raising Risk Awareness project studied whether human-induced climate change had any role to play in the extreme weather.

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Photo by Sushil Singh
Case Study

Science Summary: The heavy precipitation event in Chennai, India, 1 December 2015

The paper assesses whether an extreme rainfall event in Chennai could in part be attributed to human emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and related climate change.

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FCFA logo
Article

AMMA 2050: African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis 2050

The AMMA-2050 team will investigate how physical processes interact to cause ‘high impact weather events’ such as storms and heat waves that affect lives and livelihoods.

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5368992670193maiz - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Analysis of climate change impacts on coffee, cocoa, and basic grains value chains in Northern Honduras

Summary In 2011, the Government of Honduras asked IFAD ( www.ifad.org ) to prepare a project proposal aimed at increasing the climate resilience of agricultural production chains, protecting...
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534e4afd3788fnicaragua2012 - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Enfoques innovadores en la simulación del cambio climático y su impacto en la seguridad alimentaria: La experiencia de Nicaragua

CC y SAN Nicaragua Introducion La Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), el Instituto de Estudios del Hambre (IEH) y la Fundación para la Investigación del Clima (FIC) implementaron en 2010 y 2011 el...
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534e5a0b259bbscreen-shot-2014-04-16-at-11 - climate adaptation.
Article

Enfoques innovadores en la simulación del cambio climático y su impacto en la seguridad alimentaria- La experiencia de Nicaragua

Summary There is unanimous consensus in the scientific community about the evidence of climate change . The observations of the last decades recorded a moderate change in climate and future...
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50607dc4997a3rwanda-pic - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Climate analysis for Rwanda

Drought Prone areas in Rwanda (Source, NAPA Report, 2006, Data from Meteorological service /MININFRA ) This climate analysis was conducted as part of the DFID-funded Economics of Climate Change in...
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5060455c4ab49tanzania-front-iage - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Climate Analysis - Tanzania

The graphics show observed rainfall (monthly totals) and maximum temperature (monthly mean) for selected stations between 1979 and 2000. The blue envelope represents the range between the 10th and...
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Case Study

Developing climate messages for Zimbabwe using multiple sources of evidence

Climate feature Key messages Source Past climate variability High variability, frequent drought years and flood events Historical rainfall records ( CRU data ) Past climate trends Increasing...
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Article

Information on Zimbabwe's climate and how it is changing

Overview of key climate messages from Zimbabwe drawn from multiple sources of evidence Climate feature Key messages Source Past climate variability High variability, frequent drought years and flood...
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5060548619519burundi-image - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Historical climate analysis and climate projections for Burundi

Main physical features and flood risk map of Burundi Background This climate analysis was conducted as part of the DFID-funded Economics of Climate Change on East Africa project. The Inter-Tropical...
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505c8369da1abkenya-photo - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Historical climate analysis - Kenya

Minimum Temperature for Kericho, Kenya Background As part of the DFID project on Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Kenya, an analysis of the historic trends in precipitation, temperature and...
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Case Study

CIRCE: Climate data for Oran case study

Annual rainfall in Oran 1926-2007 Oran is located in a semi-arid region bordered by the Saharan desert to the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. The climate displays strong inter-annual...
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Article

Bangladesh: Climate Projections

Climate change projections This work forms part of a Policy Briefing on Climate Change in Bangladesh produced by Practical Action in 2008 . Other sections of the report can be seen in the Related...
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Article

Nepal: Climate Projections

Climate change projections for Nepal This work is part of a Policy Brief on Climate Change in Nepal produced by Practical Action in 2008 and provides a summary of climate change as currently...
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Article

Sri Lanka Climate Projections

Climate change projections The temperature projection for Asia is for warming to accelerate. The rate of warming in the South Asia is projected to be significantly faster than that seen in the 20th...
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4dda66bfa56cffig1e rca4 mena 1989-1991 tas ann mean tot - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Assessment of the Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources and Socio-Economic Vulnerability in the Arab Region

Arab Region PRELIMINARY Domain 1st RCA4 test simulation; mean annual temperature (1989-91)
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Article

Climate change modelling and analysis for Mozambique

This article summarises key points from a report by Mark Tadross, of the Climate Systems Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town, titled Climate Change modelling and analysis for Mozambique (...
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509934016d4ccmozambique - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Climate change modelling and analyses for Mozambique

About the report This report uses historical data and climate projections to assess how climate change may affect the operations of Mozambique's Instituto Nacional de Gestão de Calamidades (National...
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Case Study

Delhi

Change in temperature 2046-2065 Average maximum temperatures in Delhi for mid-century are expected to increase in the range of 0.6-2°C and 2.2-4.2°C depending on the time of year. Warming is likely...
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agriculture - climate adaptation.
Case Study

Agriculture

Bangladesh’s economy is primarily agricultural, accounting for 63% the labour force and 35% of GDP. The North- and South-western regions are drought-prone, with late arrival or early withdrawal of...
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Case Study

Hanoi

Difference between monthly precipitation projections for 2046-2065 and the baseline climate 1960-1990. There appears to be differences changes in precipitation for the period 2046-2065 depending on...
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Kate Williamson

Climateurope2 Webstival: Science and society dialogues on climate services and innovation

“Held online between 22-24 March 2023 , the first Climateurope2 webstival will feature invited talks on EU adaptation...”

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Christina Daszkiewicz

2021 Certified online short course on navigating climate risk (deadline: 1 September 2021)

“Dear colleagues, On behalf of the Climate System Analysis Group: More information here . You can register here .”

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Emma Baker

Join our climate change Wikipedia edit-a-thon (24 November - 1 December)

“Dear colleagues, Last year there were 98.3 million pageviews of climate change articles on Wikipedia . That’s over 267,...”

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WISER Webinar: Ten Principles for Good Co-Production in African Weather and Climate Services

“Dear Colleagues You are invited to attend the second public webinar hosted by the WISER programme entitled: Ten...”

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SouthSouthNorth KM Hub

FCFA webinar: An Embedded Researcher approach to integrate climate information into decision-making in southern African cities

“Dear Colleagues You are invited to a webinar hosted by Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) entitled: An Embedded...”

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Julia Barrott

AGU session and call for abstracts! "Actionable Climate Tools and Data: Rigorous, Accessible Products Tailored to User Needs"

“Are you creating novel visualization and computing platforms that provide climate data in readily accessible, usable...”

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