Download STATEMENT OF GUIDANCE FOR CLIMATE (other aspects

COMMISSION FOR CLIMATOLOGY XV
Open Panel of CCl Experts-4 (OPACE-4)
Climate Information for Adaptation and Risk Management
WORLD
METEOROLOGICAL
ORGANIZATION
MEETING OF THE TASK TEAM ON USER INTERFACE (TT-UI)
29-31 March 2011
WMO Headquarters
Geneva, Switzerland
TT-UI/Doc. 7
(24.03.2011)
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SECTORS TO CLIMATE VARIATION AND CHANGE
INCLUDING INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
1
Overview of available expertise in the OPACE
The Task Team was apprised that OPACE 4 members included those nominated by their
Permanent Representatives, a number identified from other OPACEs for cross-over activities such
as for the work on indices, and external experts that could contribute to the work of the teams on
an occasional basis. At present, there are 88 such persons associated with OPACE 4, and
amongst these (based on the CVs provided), there are reasonable clusters of expertise in socioeconomic sectors, including agriculture, water resources, public health, renewable energy, tourism,
transportation and urban and building climatology. Outside of these thematic clusters, the OPACE
also benefits from a strong core of expertise in climate change, impacts, adaptation, sustainable
development, and in vulnerability and risk assessment; in hazards and Disaster Risk reduction; in
environmental and ecological sciences; in operational forecasting; in policy aspects; in weather
and climate research and modeling; in training; and in user liaison.
As far as regional balance is concerned, the OPACE is well represented from most regions, with
17 from RA I (Africa), 14 from Asia (RA II), 4 from RA III (South America), 15 from RA IV (central
and north America), 10 from RA V (Pacific) and 28 from RA VI (Europe).
The membership of OPACE 4 is therefore a substantial resource to support the work of TT-UI in
the priority sectors of agriculture and water resources, other important socio-economic sectors and
all aspects of climate-risk management.
2
Rolling requirements review
The Rolling Requirements Review (RRR) process, defined by the Manual on the Global
Observing System (WMO-No. 544) (Part II, Requirements for observational data), is a process in
which user requirements for observations are compared with the capabilities of present and
planned observing systems to provide them. Both user requirements and observing system
capabilities are collated in a comprehensive, systematic and quantitative way in the WMO
database, which attempts to capture observational requirements to meet the needs of all WMO
programmes. The comparison of user requirements with observing system capabilities for a given
application area is called a Critical Review. The output of the Critical Review process is reviewed
by experts in the relevant application and used to prepare a Statement of Guidance (SOG), the
main aim of which is to draw attention to the most important gaps between user requirements and
observing system capabilities, in the context of the application. This process is conducted under
the auspices of WMO’s Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), specifically the Expert Team on the
TT-UI/Doc. 7, p. 2
Evolution of the Global Observing System (ET-EGOS), and with the cooperation of other Technical
Commissions as required for specific topics.
Applications within WMO programmes that have already been addressed include, inter alia,
Seasonal to Inter-annual Forecasts; Agricultural Meteorology; and Hydrology. In 2009, a first
version of an SoG on Climate Applications was developed by the Commission for Climatology. All
existing SoG documents are being reviewed and updated in 2011. In this light, the CCl OPACE 4
Task Team on User Interface (TT-UI) was asked to lead the review and to develop an updated
version of the above-mentioned SoG to be submitted to CBS for their consideration and inclusion
in their set. Further information on the RRR process and the available SoG documents can be
found at the following addresses:
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/OSY/GOS-redesign.html
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/RRR-and-SOG.html
3
Development of CCl OPACE 4 draft RRR SoG input for consideration by CCl-MG
Prior to the meeting of the TT-UI, the then current version of the SoG on Climate Applications was
distributed to the entire OPACE 4 for their review and comment. The OPACE strongly supported
the exercise and provided substantial comments on the document, which were organized into one
single document for the consideration of TT-UI (see Annex).
During its session, the task team ……..[to be completed following discussions].
It was agreed that the final version of this draft would be provided through the OPACE 4 cochairmen, to the CCl Management Group for their oversight, prior to being submitted to CBS
through Dr William Wright, the CCl expert assigned to the CBS group conducting this review.
4
Susceptibility of sectors to climate and the use of climate information by sectors
The TT-UI discussed how to proceed to address this ToR and decided….. to be completed
following discussions.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex
STATEMENT OF GUIDANCE FOR CLIMATE (other aspects -CCl)
(Point of contact: Raino Heino, Finland)
(Draft version of 28 November 2009 by Raino Heino, Finland)
1. INTRODUCTION
This Statement of Guidance (SoG) was developed through a process of consultation within the
Commission for Climatology (CCl) community to document the observational data requirements to
support various aspects of the CCl-work, especially in the applications and services (cf.
Appendix 1). It is expected that the Statement will be reviewed at appropriate intervals to ensure
that it remains consistent with the current state of the relevant science and technology.
This report covers data requirements for various application areas, in which many present
problems are connected to climate change issues, including monitoring, detection and attribution.
Because attribution involves the comparison of three-dimensional fields of observations with fields
from models covering the whole climate system, data types for many parts of the climate system
are involved.
Detection should be based on analysis of high-quality homogeneous data. GCOS baseline
systems, especially the GCOS Surface Network (GSN) and the GCOS Upper-Air Network (GUAN),
are essential benchmarks to ensure the homogeneity of the overall global/regional databases.
Other networks need also to be consolidated and maintained, including national networks (e.g.
Reference Climatological Stations) and regional networks (e.g. Regional Basic Climatological
Network), with emphasis on their continuity and homogeneity.
For monitoring climate change, data on variability and vulnerability, and extreme events are
essential. The most common and high impact manifestations of local variability involve temperature
and precipitation, which show significant variability in most regions, and have marked effects on
local and regional economies and livelihoods. Multi-seasonal anomalies are less common, but
have even stronger effects on society. Multi-year anomalies are still less common, but can have
devastating social and economic consequences.
Important phenomena to be monitored include heat waves, frost, cyclones, floods and droughts
and a number of other characteristics derived from the basic climatic parameters. This requires
daily and even hourly data for some variables. Data archaeology and metadata are also important.
Maximum focus in the past has been on the atmosphere, but increasing emphasis needs to be
placed on the terrestrial and ocean components of the climate system. Monitoring sea-level rise,
for instance, is vital for climate change adaptation efforts in coastal or island communities.
Increasing sea levels mean greater risk of storm surge, inundation and wave damage to coastlines,
particularly in Small Island States and countries with low lying deltas. Paleoclimatic data are also
used to provide a long-term perspective.
Because extreme events will have effects on health and lives as well as associated environmental
and economic impacts, these aspects of climate variability are crucially important to society. It
cannot be overemphasized the importance of sharing the longer-term records of daily data to
enable studies of high impact climate events in a uniform way. More can be learnt by sharing the
data and thus better value of the data can be materialized, and at the end it is the data owner who
benefits from sharing the data. Nevertheless, it has been much more difficult to create global data
sets of daily data than of monthly data.
The IPCC 4th Assessment Report (2007) has reviewed the state of understanding of climate
change. An important development in the report was the assignment of error estimates to some
climate indices and analysed fields. Data coverage needs to be sufficient to allow these
developments to continue. Data quality assurance is most essential in order to separate the real
climate changes from the apparent ones caused by changes in the measuring instruments and
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 2
observing methods/ locations, and errors in the data. It should also provide a means of providing
feedback on climate needs to observational program managers within the NMHSs.
The GCOS Second Report on the Adequacy of the Global Observing Systems for Climate in
Support of the UNFCCC (2003) provides a complete assessment of the adequacy of current
observing systems, particularly to meet the needs of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change. An update of progress against this report is available in GCOS (2009). The GCOS
Climate Monitoring Principles, which are included therein (also in Appendix 2), must be adhered to
when planning, developing and operating all observing systems relevant to climate change,
including both in situ and satellite-based systems.
2. USER REQUIREMENTS
This section is shortened and modified from the document “Observation needs for climate services and research”
describing the needs for climate data in community sectors identified for consideration at the World Climate Conference
(2009). They reflect also the work of the corresponding CCl Expert Teams (Appendix 1).
Human health
Climate is one of the major determinants of human health; as the temperature and humidity move
outside relatively narrow bands, the well-being of humans is affected. Health effects can be direct,
such as through increased heat stress in periods of sustained unusually high temperature, or
indirect, such as through respiratory diseases induced by particulate pollution in the air both
human-induced environmental pollution and natural disasters such as sandstorm, through changes
in the distribution of insects and animals that carry human (and animal) diseases, and through
changes in water quality due to chemical and radioactive pollutants. Increases in frequency of
natural hazards such as flood, tsunami, avalanche, drought etc. induced by climate change in
some regions will also lead to increased number of death, infectious disease (diarrhoeal diseases)
and disease on mental health (long-term anxiety and depression). Increases in frequency of
wildfires induced by climate change in some regions will also lead to increased morbidity from
poorer air quality.
As many health effects tend to be quite localised, it is important that climate observations are
maintained and improved at local scales, especially in urban areas. These climate observations
include not only physical variables such as temperature and humidity but also chemical variables
(e.g. sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and isotopic concentration of precipitation) and aerosols.
Such observations need to be analysed in conjunction with concomitant health data.
Weather has a profound effect on human health and well-being. It has been demonstrated that
weather is associated with changes in birth rates, and sperm counts, with outbreaks of pneumonia,
influenza and bronchitis, and is related to other morbidity effects linked to pollen concentrations
and high pollution levels.
Large increases in mortality have occurred during previous heat and cold waves. Hot weather
extremes appear to have a more substantial impact on mortality than cold wave episodes. Most
research indicates that mortality during extreme heat events varies with age, sex, and race.
Factors associated with increased risk from heat exposure include alcoholism, living on higher
floors of buildings, and the use of tranquilizers. Factors associated with decreased risk are use of
air conditioning, frequent exercising, consumption of fluids, and living in shaded residences.
Acclimatization may moderate the impact of successive heat waves over the short term.
Humidity has an important impact on mortality since it contributes to the body's ability to cool itself
by evaporation of perspiration. In addition, humidity affects human comfort, and the perceived
temperature by humans is largely dependent upon atmospheric moisture content. It also has an
important influence on morbidity in the winter because cold, dry air leads to excessive dehydration
of nasal passages and the upper respiratory tract and increased chance of microbial and viral
infection.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 3
Precipitation in the form of rainfall and snow is also associated with changes in mortality. In most of
the city, upward trends in mortality were noted the day after snowfalls that had accumulated 2
inches or more.
Weather and climate extreme events such as flood, drought, heat and cold wave, tornado, storm,
avalanche, hail, fog, lightning, etc cause morbidity and mortality and reduce human well-being.
If future global warming induced by increased concentrations of trace gases does occur, it has the
potential to significantly affect human mortality. It is hypothesized that, if climate warming occurs,
some additional deaths are likely to occur because economic conditions and the basic
infrastructure of the city will prohibit full acclimatization even if behaviour changes.
In addition, several atmospheric phenomena are indirectly related to weather and might have an
impact on mortality. Meteorological conditions exert a large influence on pollution concentrations
and disperse ion and they also affect the impact of pollution on mortality and morbidity. Also
combined effect of temperature and humidity is known as apparent temperature (heat index) and
combined effect of temperature and wind speed is known as wind-chill and both of them affect
human comfort. Warming trend may contribute to rise of some climate-sensitive diseases such as
malaria and Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever.
Energy
Energy plays an important role in human development and its quality and use determines the
standard of living of the citizens.The impacts of weather and Climate come into play mainly during
the processing of capital energy, that is, harnessing, transmission and distribution including
biomass fuel harvest. The degree of climatic impact is however dependent on a number of factors,
which among others include energy transformation processes, concentration and the level of
technology involved.
Extreme climate and weather variability are capable of triggering disasters in the energy sector and
the magnitude of the disaster is dependent on size of energy system and the degree of impacting
climatic elements. Excessive rains for example can interfere with electrical power supply as a
result of trees falling on power lines, flood waters uprooting the power poles and vehicles knocking
down power lines as a result of poor visibility. Heavy rains can similarly disrupt the normal
production and distribution of essential petroleum products such as cooking gas and other fuels to
isolated areas that heavily rely on such commodities for their energy supply as a result of roads
being impassable.
Overhead power lines for the distribution of electricity are vulnerable to a number of weather
hazards including strong winds which may snap the supporting poles, wind blown trees falling on
the high tension lines, etc. It has also been found that high humidity also affects the efficiency of
the electrical transmission and performance of the insulators although a large proportion of the
power supplies interruptions are linked to lightning and thunderstorm activities. The demand for
fuel and electrical power is also sensitive to weather conditions. More power is required for space
heating during cold weather conditions than in warm weather conditions.
In many regions the local climate has a substantial impact on the availability and use of energy.
The energy required to operate electricity and residential/commercial space cooling/heating
equipment is very common generated by natural gas/coal fuelled power stations. To estimate
natural gas/coal consumption in relation to weather conditions it is necessary to have reliable
historical climate data. Heating/cooling day degree studies can be used as a tool to reveal this
relationship.
Climate may affect all sectors of power economy including energy generation (both traditional and
renewable energy sources), transportation and consumption. Exploration and exploitation of the oil
and gas fields, designing and operation of oil and gas pipe-lines require a set of tailored climate
products. The climate information on air temperature, humidity, wind speed, snow and ice loadings
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 4
as well as dangerous weather events probability is necessary for designing and safe operation of
nuclear and thermal power stations and electric power lines.
Information from weather forecasts is currently routinely employed in the energy sector (from
energy producers to suppliers, and from financial analysts to national regulators) to assist in
decision-making. Given the diversity of the energy sector, this information is used for several
purposes, e.g. for pricing the cost of energy or that of financial instruments (e.g. derivative
contracts). Other climate information, such as that from seasonal and decadal forecasts, is also
starting to be included in the decision processes in the energy sector. This weather/climate
information, especially when severe weather events are expected, will likely become a regular
factor in climate change adaptation contingent strategies, including in the formulation of climate
change adaptation regulations. In addition, weather/climate information will be a key element in the
development and use of renewable energy resources such as and wind, solar energies, biofuel,
heat pumps and hydropower.
Hydro-electricity is a source of energy in some mountainous areas, particularly in sub Saharan
Africa. As global warming is starting to influence the seasonal cycle of snow and glacier melt, and
alter wind and precipitation patterns, particularly the increased frequency and severity of prolonged
droughts, the operation of such power plants is being affected. Renewable energy sources wind
and solar power generation and their efficiency are clearly dependent on climate information, both
for selecting sites for infrastructure and for sustained operation. Decadal-scale and longer-term
climate fluctuations or climate-change shifts may affect the long-term efficacy of wind and solar
power sources in some regions. Climate information is also needed for the design of energy
efficient buildings for all seasons as well as to decision-making on where best to locate biofuel
sources. Extreme climate condition such as heat wave and cold surge could cause the supply of
traditional energy unstable, even collapsed temporarily. So climate prediction information is
needed for the management of traditional energy supply, too.
It needs to be noted however, Hydro-electricity and solar energy systems present an opportunity
for the production of clean energy, some solar energy systems may have negative effects on local
climate. It needs to pay attention to local climate change in around the dam catchment and solar
energy production areas esp. for increasing of temperature and decreasing of precipitation amount.
In particular, parabolic trough types of CSP solar energy systems can create a heat island in
production areas. For instance, to produce 50MW electricity power with parabolic trough type
(CSP) systems, it needs to between 126 - 225 hectares of land and 600000 – 800000 m3 water. In
these systems, operating temperature is changing between 250 - 650°C.
Climate data needs for wind and solar energy (from CCl Expert Team on Climate and Energy)
- at present, satellite-derived wind data are not as accurate as in situ observations, but are useful
for pre-feasibility wind resource estimation.
- for risk assessments, there is a requirement for measurement of natural turbulence in the
atmospheric boundary layer, in addition to the conventional observations which include surface
and radiosonde measurements. It should be noted that operational wind farms can generate both
turbulence and wind ‘shadows’ which are a hazard for small airstrips.
- highly useful are the reanalysis data from the ECMWF, NCEP, JRA, the UKMO ACRE global
data reconstruction project, satellite observations, and other remotely sensed data from LIDAR-and
SODAR-systems.
Fresh water (in a more detailed way in the SoG for Hydrology)
Terrestrial-surface-water resources systems are strongly influenced by climatic factors such as
rainfall and evaporation. To a smaller extend, the groundwater resources are also influenced (but
with a considerable time lag) by rainfall and evaporation. Consequently, climate information and
prediction products are vital in the planning and management of water resources and must be
factored into the management policies for disasters related to the water resources sector. For
example in the recent times availability of fresh water is becoming an important limiting factor on
the development of communities. The observed increase in climate variability manifested through
increased frequency and severity of both floods and droughts coupled with increased evaporation
rate exacerbated by increasing temperature trends is already having disastrous impacts on the
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 5
availability of fresh water supply, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa leading to severe socioeconomic and ecological implications. Therefore effective adaptation and mitigation strategies will
need to be developed and implemented now and in the future. These and other climate impacts
will interact with societal decisions on water rights and water use, both within a nation's territory
and among regional neighbours.
Monitoring of climate variables associated with the availability and quality of fresh water requires
systematic observations of the basic atmospheric variables, such as precipitation, evaporation,
temperature, radiation and wind, as well as hydrological variables that characterise the storage and
movement of water at the land surface. Apart from precipitation and evaporation measurements,
which are vital for assessing overall water balance, the other atmospheric variables allow the flux
of water across the atmosphere-land interface to be estimated accurately, while the hydrological
variables such as stream-flow and soil moisture allow the water budget across catchment areas to
be calculated. Given the increasing drought frequency and the increasing use of ground water
resources for human consumption in many parts of the world, it is necessary to place greater effort
on monitoring the quantity and quality of ground water storages and their changes, and enhancing
awareness and capacity on rain water harvesting in both rural and urban areas. Management of
watershed will also become a key issue under the projected change in climate particularly in arid
and semi-arid regions in respect of land degradation and water scarcity.
Climate observations should also include the measurements of chemical parameters of
precipitation (e.g. sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and isotopic concentration) to estimate the
water quality and source for consumption needs of fresh water.
Since the glaciers are important features in the hydrological cycle and affect fresh water supply for
many regions, the systematic observations to monitor variability and changes in glaciers
characteristics are vital. Remote sensing observations are needed for mapping characteristics of
glaciers. Mass balance characteristics for long-term period are required to understand the
influence of glaciers on runoff.
Sustainable cities
In many countries, there is a trend towards increasing urbanisation; thus the impacts of climate
variability and change on urban areas need to be well understood. In addition, the impacts of
urbanization on climate variability and change also need to be comprehended. Detailed climate
observations and the associated socio-economic data need to be systematically collected and
analysed to ensure that optimal strategies are developed to manage climate impacts. Issues to be
understood and managed include:
 the impact of urbanisation on regional climate
 building design to mitigate and adapt to climate changes
 urban planning to optimise energy use, especially for transport
 human health impacts of air quality and physical climate changes such as increased
frequency or severity of heat waves. With increasing energy consumption, the air pollution
has become an important issue. There is a close relation between air pollutants (between
SO2, PM10, NO, NO2, CO) and climatic factors such as temperature, wind. )
 urban planning to optimise use and management of water supply, as well as drainage
systems, especially for those cities with large population
 urban planning to mitigate and adapt to sea-level rise including aspects associated with
more severe storm surge events
 urban planning and neighbouring forest management to provide security against fire and
flood risks
 identify air pollution sources in the urban cities
In many instances, the value of climate data relating to urban areas is greatly enhanced when
combined with socio-economic information on human activities in the region.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 6
Food security (in a more detailed way in the SoG for Agricultural Meteorology)
Certain major factors have had an impact on increasing vulnerability to food insecurity.
These include:
Changing Land Use
Population pressure and political interests in land ownership in some African countries has
led to fragmentation of land holdings into small and inadequate land for household food
production. This has increased household food insecurity.
Population growth has increased demand for food requirements. This has led to opening up
of Arid and Semi Arid Land (ASAL) for cultivation and settlement without appropriate
farming and soil and water conservation techniques and practices. Combined with
cultivation on steep slopes, riverbanks and clearing of forests, these land use practices
have left soils vulnerable to slightest floods and erosion.
Erosion of Coping Strategies
Deterioration of environment and loss of biodiversity have reduced availability of wild
foods. Establishment of game parks and reserves in some countries has not only protected
game that communities would fall back to but along with other developments has alienated
grazing reserves from the nomadic pastoralists, leaving them vulnerable to droughts.
Lack of Drought Preparedness at Household Level
Climate and weather information for drought preparedness does not reach many farmers
and is still received with skepticism. The information has not been well internalised and is
not effectively used at household level. Forecasts are not livelihood zone specific and are
not used in decision-making at farm level. As such most households are usually not
prepared for droughts.
Hence, challenges for agriculture are being exacerbated in some regions as climate change
modifies the local temperature and rainfall regimes. Changes in temperature and precipitation
associated with continued emissions of greenhouse gases will bring changes in land suitability and
crop yields. Moreover, limited land availability, combined with rising human population, continually
forces agriculture into more marginal land. The location of land suitable for grazing or crop
production will change as climate changes, and the need for forecasting or early warning of herd
collapse or crop failure due to drought, heavy rain, or hair falls, or frost or shifts in disease
incidence (plant and animal) is already very real. While patterns of agricultural production will
change in the future as a result of climate change, understanding the effects on food security and
assessing whether food systems can adapt sufficiently to avoid increased food insecurity raise
many issues. Food security depends upon more than just local agricultural production. Access to
food is a function of both household income and price of food, as well as of the ability of markets
and distribution networks to allocate food equitably, from the household to the international level.
In some parts, progressive climate change will increase the probability of failed agricultural
seasons due not only to long-term shifts in temperature and precipitation but also to the likely
increased frequency of droughts and floods. Increases in transitory food insecurity episodes can
thus be expected. Long-term monitoring of basic climate variables, related to the fluxes of energy
at the surface, is essential if we are to plan for changes in the location, extent and productivity of
agricultural and grazing lands. Also needed are improved mechanisms for delivery of short- and
medium-range weather forecast information, to help farmers cope with increasing variability of
climate.
From the perspective of world food security, it is important to recognize that food security involves
climate, not only as a natural hazard but also as a natural resource. Climate is a renewable
resource, but is variable in time and space. For proper and efficient use of the other two natural
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 7
resources (soil and plant/animal genetic material) for sustainable agriculture, knowledge of the role
of climate is an essential precondition. Climate can be regarded as the driving variable for
sustainable production of plant, animal and soil resources. WMO Members contribute to this
activity by providing accurate weather and climate observations, analyses and forecasts that are
used by the agricultural community to increase crop and livestock yields, plan their planting and
harvest
time
and
reduce
pests
and
diseases.
(Source:
http://www.wmo.int/pages/food_security/index_en.html)
Tourism (from World Climate News, March 2008)
One of the key elements in this sector is vegetation, which is often effected by an array of weather
and climate factors such temperature, rainfall, soil moisture and fertility, solar insolation and,
humidity .Vegetation controls the distribution of animals most rigorously in that each animal must
remain within reach of the plants upon which it feeds or in the case of a carnivore within reach of
its prey, which in turn is controlled in its habitat by vegetation .For example In the tropics, rainfall is
a critical factor in determining plant growth. However, soil moisture and fertility also influence
biomass production.
On the other hand, Extreme weather and climate events, especially sea level rise associated with
global warming poses a major threat to coastlines. The impacts of sea level rise may result in
lowland inundation and wetlands displacement, shoreline erosion, saltwater intrusion into estuaries
and freshwater aquifers, altered tidal range in rivers and bays, changes in sediment patterns and
decreased light penetration to the benthic organism. These will also lead to increased beach
erosion and destruction of the coral reefs. Hence generally speaking, the tourism industry and
tourism destinations are sensitive to climate variability and change. Some changes in climate could
therefore have significant impacts on various aspects of the tourism sector, for example:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Warmer temperatures would affect the seasonality and major geographic patterns of
tourism demand, increase heat stress for tourists, alter destination image and
competitiveness, alter heating-cooling costs, and could change the range of infectious
diseases;
Decrease in snow amount and extent would increase snow-making costs, and decrease the
length of winter sports seasons, making some current facilities-destinations unviable;
An increase in frequency or intensity of extreme weather (e.g. tropical cyclones and
associated more intense storm surge impacts, hurricanes, mid-latitude winter storms) would
increase risk for tourists and infrastructure, raise insurance costs, increase the costs of
business interruptions including travel delays;
Reduced precipitation would create or increase water stress in some destinations, could
cause or increase competition between tourism and other users for water, could affect
availability of locally-produced food, would exacerbate desertification and increase the
threat of wildfires, with consequent threats to infrastructure, tourist safety and destination
aesthetics and tourism resources;
Increased frequency of heavy precipitation would increase risk of flooding, affecting safety
of tourists and their hosts, hamper movement of wildlife; increasing risk to tourism
infrastructure and to cultural heritage assets, a major draw for destination choices;
Increase in frequency and severity of droughts associated with extreme higher
temperatures and increased evaporation rate will reduce the availability of water supply,
raise insurance costs and increase business running cost;
Sea level rise will cause flooding and increase coastal erosion, reduce or eliminate vital
beach area, put significant tourism infrastructure and heritage assets at risk, increase costs
of and would reduce availability of freshwater supply through salt water intrusion;
A rise in sea-surface temperatures would increase risk of coral bleaching, and affect marine
resources (including availability of marine food supply);
Changes in climate could also affect biological resources for tourism by reducing
biodiversity or the abundance of key species. This can be either direct (e.g. change in plant
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 8
-
species through changed temperature and rainfall regime) or indirect (e.g. loss of species
through climate-induced environmental changes such as fire frequency or sea-ice).
Decrease in river levels or even induced seasonality of some rivers would affect one of the
tourist related wonders of the world such as migration of wild beasts
Vulnerability to these potential impacts is of particular concern where tourism has become a
significant factor in the local and national economy, as is the case in many developing countries
and Small Island Developing States. The sector recognizes that climate change will also, in some
regions, raise new opportunities, so all components of the sector, in all regions, need to be
cognizant of both risks and opportunities associated with climate variability and change, for
effective decisions and the sustainability of what is now a major component of the global economy.
Ecosystem:
Climate is an integral part of ecosystems and organisms have adapted to their regional climate
over time. Climate change is a factor that has potential to alter ecosystems and many resources
and services they provide to each other and to society. Human societies depend on ecosystems
for the natural, cultural, spiritual, recreational and aesthetic resources they provide.
Therefore, it is necessary to integrate climate change impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem
patterns analysis. The satellite images on land degradation, such as ndvi, land cover index data
over time should be collected and matched to the climatological data analysis.
3. OBSERVING CAPABILITIES
This section is based mainly on the World Climate Conference document “Capability of existing and future observing
systems” as well as the deliverables of CCl Expert Team on Observing Requirements and Standards for Climate and
Expert Teams on various application areas (cf. Appendix 1).
The adequacy of observational networks varies largely from region to region and observations for
some of the variables described below are inadequate in terms of spatial and temporal coverage. It
needs to be noted however, that observational requirements over the oceans are not reflected in
this Statement of Guidance and terrestrial observations are handled in a limited way.
Weather and climate data are necessarily needed to enable the development of climatological
applications and services necessary to manage sectoral challenges such as those outlined above.
The data are used by the NMHSs and their partner agencies in a variety of projects and other
studies aimed at mitigating climate-related risk and losses. The collection and management of
climatological data, including ensuring its accessibility in electronic forms, is also critical for running
different models for the assessment of the climatic characteristics used in the climate applications
and services, and for tuning, verifying and downscaling climate change models. Geographical
Information Systems (GIS) are very easy tools and present an opportunity for data collection,
quality control, database, data monitoring, downscaling methods and interactive services to endusers as a whole.
As weather plays a critical role in influencing agricultural production, climate database becomes a
pre-requisite for efficient agricultural planning. Long-term climate databases play a vital role by
providing a clear insight into the climatic vagaries at micro and macro levels. Such information will
help developing appropriate response farming strategies for efficient crop management on shortterm basis and agroclimatic regional planning on long-term basis. Though, climate data is recorded
vigorously across the country in most parts of the world, its utility has been marginalized due to
scattered location of the databases and impediments in the free flow of data. Thus, compiling
climate data of various regions at one location will be of immense use.
Climatological parameters are variable in time and space. Ground observations do not always
provide end–users with required spatial and temporal resolution. Information about large areas can
only be obtained by remote sensing. The flow of data from new generation satellites has the
potential to greatly boost the monitoring of climate beyond that possible from conventional
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 9
observations alone, but poses challenges to ensure such data are effectively integrated with
traditional observations.
In addition to the standard weather elements (air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, wind
speed/direction, solar radiation, soil moisture, etc.), it is also important to collect other data e.g.
information on disasters (tropical systems and associated storm surges, severe weather, floods,
fires, freezes, blizzards, ice storms, volcanoes activity, tsunami’s morbidity and mortality data for
heat waves, etc.) and their associated impacts on communities, and chemical parameters of
precipitation (e.g. sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and isotopic concentration) at strategically
located stations. In order to adapt successfully to climate change it is also important to assess how
responsive current climate-sensitive systems (natural and man-made) are to climate and its
variations; for instance, how much rainfall is required to ensure an adequate water supply.
The longest climate records are available for surface variables, primarily temperature and
precipitation. All studies of climate change require that the basic measurements be homogeneous
i.e. not affected by changes in instrument type and location or observation practices, or by
undocumented data adjustments. NMHSs pay attention to keep in operation their observation
stations which have long periods data with environmental and observational systems metadata.
Improvements to instrumentation require overlapping observations of the old and the new system
for a period sufficient to identify and eliminate time-dependent biases (cf. GCOS Climate
Monitoring Principles, Appendix 2). Where no overlap exists, a consistent method for adjusting
data series based on data from neighbouring sites is required.
Metadata must be acquired and kept up-to-date, both for ensuring the reliability and fitness for
purpose of the records and for assessing the effects of local land-use changes. Current and
historical metadata should be, to the extent possible, stored in electronic form and made readily
accessible. All surface variables need to be monitored to the required accuracy and recorded using
consistent statistical methods (for example wind speed averaging periods) (see CEOS/WMO
database for a list of all required variables and monitoring accuracy). Major efforts must be made
to ensure the long-term viability of observational networks, and that data losses are kept to a
minimum. This poses particular challenges in developing countries, while the implementation of
automated observing systems, which are increasing rapidly as a proportion of the overall observing
network, must be done with the needs of the climate program firmly in mind.
In developing countries, Data Rescue needs to be carried out to ensure that data stored on forms
that deteriorate under certain climate conditions such as high humidity are rescued and put in
electronic forms. Data Rescue should also entail migration of data from storage media that are
being phased out to the ones coming into the market to take care of technological changes.
The GSN provides a baseline set of observations against which more detailed national and
regional measurements can be assessed. Coverage over land is generally good, but performance
is poor in some regions. High-quality national and regional networks of Reference Climatological
Stations (RCSs) must be maintained. NHMS’s must be established a RCSs network from at least
10% of national observational network which have got long period climate data. NHMS’s operate
both conventional observation systems and automatic observation systems in other words old and
new systems together in RCSs. At present, many data that are thought to be collected do not make
their way to the global data centres for a variety of reasons that include poor communications and
lack of capability in generating the required messages. Much could be gained, if all data were
shared with the data centres.
It would also be highly desirable to have more accurate observations of near-surface humidity
everywhere, of precipitation over high-latitude and mountainous areas and oceans, and of winds
over the land. Changes in storm tracks over time, changes in natural large-scale oscillations and
changes in observing equipment can influence trends in the observed wind data.
It is important to consider the need for regular calibration and maintenance of meteorological
instruments by standardizing, comparing and training.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 10
The monitoring of surface variables can be accomplished by remote sensing under clear sky
conditions. Geostationary satellites are optimum regarding frequency of observations. Research
polar satellites have adequate horizontal resolution, but lack necessary observing frequency.
Microwave imagers and sounders offer information on precipitation of marginal horizontal and
temporal resolution. Satellite-borne rain radars offer the potential for improved observations. There
is much ongoing work on a lot of applications for precipitation estimation on the basis of certain
characteristics of remotely sensed clouds. However, validation of the rainfall estimates through
ground truthing is important to ensure development of representative data.
Satellite meteorology has allowed us to obtain accurate measurements of basic meteorological and
agro-meteorological parameters (e.g. surface albedo, surface temperature, evapotranspiration,
solar radiation, rainfall etc.). The satellite estimated agro-meteorological parameters have several
advantages compared to conventional measurements of agrometeorological data in ground
meteorological network resources spent on agromet lead to concrete improvement in sustainable
agriculture
The most important upper-air variable for monitoring climate change is temperature. Humidity is
next important because of its strong contribution to the enhanced greenhouse effect. As all the
data need to be accurate and unbiased, care must be taken to ensure that metadata are available
to allow radiosonde and satellite-based temperature and humidity profiles to be determined to
known quality with established error bars.
Some events of shorter duration need attention as being of climate significance. Major volcanic
events and major fires fall in this category. These events affect climate through the introduction of
aerosols into the atmosphere and through land-surface changes, which can have major air-quality
and albedo consequences. Climate change might affect the frequency of large fires in a region
which then leads to longer term land-surface changes and changes to other climate parameters,
besides climate induced health issues. A combination of satellite and in situ data will be needed to
permit characterization of the anomalies in the atmosphere introduced by larger-scale fires and
major volcanoes.
The combination of recurrent climate variability patterns and short-term chaotic atmospheric
variability leads to extreme weather events, which can have severe human and economic impacts.
Accordingly, to monitor climate variability, data on extreme events are essential. Important
phenomena to be monitored include tropical and mid-latitude cyclones, storm surges, heat waves,
frost, floods and droughts. Therefore daily data are needed and, ideally, hourly precipitation data.
In fact, for urban flooding, minute-by-minute data are needed. In addition, the social, economic and
environmental impacts of extreme events, and of longer-term anomalies, need to be recorded as
systematically and objectively as possible.
Even the longest of instrumental records are not long enough to address issues of
representativeness over long time scales. Paleoclimate data (indirect information from tree rings,
ice cores, corals, historical documents, etc.) allow the instrumental record to be placed in a much
longer context. Isotopic concentration of precipitation data (2H, 16O, 18O) is very important in
paleoclimatological studies to assess ice cores and historical water. IAEA’s networks; GNIP, GNIR
and MIBA are s good supporter for Paleoclimate and they needs to be improved. They are
particularly important for assessing the uniqueness of recent trends, together with climate model
results and estimates of past forcing. The consistency of paleoclimate data, and their interpretation
in terms of instrumental measurements, requires ongoing research.
Data rescue which is ongoing process of preserving all data at risk of being lost due to
deterioration of the medium, and the digitization of current and past data into computer compatible
form for easy access is also very important activities in order to provide longest climate record.
There are some ongoing project such as MEDARE and ACRE which CCl XV. Session appreciated
these efforts.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Annex p. 11
4. CONCLUDING REMARKS
Established networks largely meet traditional needs; however substantial vulnerabilities exist,
particularly in developing and least-developed countries. These vulnerabilities revolve around
resources (including funding), communications and training issues, and attention is needed to
ensure that these vulnerabilities are addressed, including resource mobilization to support key
climate monitoring stations.
Since the 1990s, some observing network degradation has been halted. New observing systems
have been established, but a number of past concerns remain (e.g. filling gaps in coverage). The
introduction of automated surface networks has resulted in improved temporal frequency of
observations at the expense of manually observed parameters such as cloud cover. Improved
communications and some training are required to ensure that CLIMAT messages are properly
and routinely sent and received.
GSN and GUAN observations provide the backbone for analyses of larger-scale work with climate
applications and services, but need to be augmented by denser national and regional networks to
truly reflect climate variability and change over areas representing different climate zones,
vulnerable areas (as glaciers), and socio-economically important areas. However, the
consumables for GUAN stations are quite expensive for developing and least developed countries.
This will still hamper improvement in the spatial coverage of upper air data.
Quality assurance is a vital component of ensuring climate data is fit for purpose. Efforts should be
made to ensure that climate data – at least the Essential Climate Variables – are subject to
suitable quality control processes. Programs on data rescue should continue to find, secure and
where resources permit, digitise all available historical records, with priority going to those stations
identified as climatically significant in the previous point.
Manual and automated observing stations have complementary strengths and weaknesses for
climate. Efforts should continue to ensure network planners take account of these synergies, and
address issues that may impact on the homogeneity and completeness of the climate record.
Homogeneity and completeness of records are vital for all climatic studies. Long-term, high-quality,
calibrated, and as far as possible un-interrupted observations are the foundation for most climaterelated applications and services.
Satellite data are the only means for providing high-resolution data in areas where in situ
observations are sparse or absent. The climate program should collaborate with projects and
initiatives focussing on the integration of different observing systems, and to explore the potential
of remote-sensing techniques for representing climatically-significant variables. However, there is a
need to undertake ground-truth studies to ensure remotely-sensed data are compatible with
conventional observations.
Many established observing systems have yet to implement the GCOS Climate Monitoring
Principles (Appendix 2). There is a need to ensure that observation program managers and
network planners consult closely with climate programs to ensure their actions do not adversely
affect the climate record. This should be done at the international level through appropriate
consultation between WMO Program areas, and at the individual NMHS level.
______________
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 1
Applications and services in the present CCl and WCP organization
The Commission for Climatology (CCl) is one of eight Technical Commissions of the World
Meteorological Organization. It is supported by the World Climate Programme (WCP) and its subprogrammes. With respect to applications of climate, the World Climate Applications and
Services Programme (WCASP) and its Climate Information and Prediction Services (CLIPS)
project are core elements of WMO’s approach to climate services. The WCASP fosters the
effective application of climate knowledge and information for the benefit of society and the
provision of climate services, including the prediction of significant climate variations both natural
and as a result of human activity. The CLIPS project deals with the implementation of climate
services around the globe. It strives to take advantage of current data bases, increasing climate
knowledge and improving prediction capabilities to limit the negative impacts of climate variability
and to enhance planning activities based on the developing capacity of climate science.
In anticipation of adoption and implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services, the
World Climate Programme is likely to evolve and restructure to better support the GFCS. It is
envisaged that CLIPS will cease as a project by 2015, knowing that its achievements are at the
root of the GFCS, and that progress achieved because of CLIPS will be furthered within the
Climate Services Information System (CSIS) and the Climate User Interface Platform (CUIP)
components of the GFCS.
At the time the first version of this Statement of Guidance related to applications and services was
drafted in 2009, the CCl was organized into four Open Programme Area Groups (OPAGs): OPAG
1 was on Climate Data and Data Management; OPAG 2 was on the Monitoring and Analysis of
Climate Variability and Change; OPAG 3 was on Climate Information and Prediction Services
(CLIPS); and OPAG 4 was on Climate Applications and Services. OPAG 4 had expert teams
specifically focused on key sectors (for health, energy, tourism, and urban and building
climatology). In addition there were Rapporteurs on climate and water and climate and agriculture,
linking the CCl with the Commission for Hydrology and the Commission for Agricultural
Meteorology.
At the Fifteenth session of the Commission (CCl-XV) that met in Antalya, Turkey in February 2010,
experts discussed the future of the Commission and of climatology. The vision of the Commission
for Climatology is to provide world leadership in expertise and international cooperation in
climatology. More specifically, its mission is to stimulate, lead, implement, assess and coordinate
international technical activities within WMO under the World Climate Programme (WCP) and the
Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) to obtain and apply climate information and
knowledge in support of sustainable socio-economic development and environmental protection.
To better accomplish this, CCl has adopted a new approach to undertake its work based on four
thematic groups, now called Open Panels of CCl Experts, or OPACEs: OPACE I (Climate Data
Management); OPACE II (Climate Monitoring and Assessment); OPACE III (Climate Products and
Services and their Delivery Mechanisms); and OPACE IV (Climate Information for Adaptation and
Risk Management). The objective of OPACE IV is to improve decision-making for planning,
operations, risk management and for adaptation to both climate change and variability (covering
time scales from seasonal to centennial) and will be achieved through a higher level of climate
knowledge, as well as by access to and use of actionable information and products, tailored to
meet their needs.
The activities undertaken under OPACE IV are intended to primarily focus on the approach to
development of tailored climate information, products and services for user application in
adaptation and risk management, and on interface with user groups. These activities will provide
key contributions to the Climate User Interface Programme (CUIP) component of the Global
Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).
The work of OPACE IV is multidisciplinary, and its core priority sectors for consideration are
agriculture/food security and water, requiring close collaboration with the WMO Technical
Commissions for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) and for Hydrology (CHy). These priorities will
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 1, p. 2
expand and grow to include others such as health, energy, urban matters, tourism, and coastal
climate change.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2
GCOS Climate Monitoring Principles
Effective monitoring systems for climate should adhere to the following principles:
(The ten basic principles were adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) through decision 5/CP.5 at COP-5
in November 1999. This complete set of principles was adopted by the Congress of the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) through Resolution 9 (Cg-XIV) in May 2003; agreed by the
Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) at its 17th Plenary in November 2003; and
adopted by COP through decision 11/CP.9 at COP-9 in December 2003.)
1. The impact of new systems or changes to existing systems should be assessed prior to
implementation.
2. A suitable period of overlap for new and old observing systems is required.
3. The details and history of local conditions, instruments, operating procedures, data
processing algorithms and other factors pertinent to interpreting data (i.e., metadata) should
be documented and treated with the same care as the data themselves.
4. The quality and homogeneity of data should be regularly assessed as a part of routine
operations.
5. Consideration of the needs for environmental and climate-monitoring products and
assessments, such as IPCC assessments, should be integrated into national, regional and
global observing priorities.
6. Operation of historically-uninterrupted stations and observing systems should be
maintained.
7. High priority for additional observations should be focused on data-poor regions, poorly
observed parameters, regions sensitive to change, and key measurements with inadequate
temporal resolution.
8. Long-term requirements, including appropriate sampling frequencies, should be specified to
network designers, operators and instrument engineers at the outset of system design and
implementation.
9. The conversion of research observing systems to long-term operations in a carefullyplanned manner should be promoted.
10. Data management systems that facilitate access, use and interpretation of data and
products should be included as essential elements of climate monitoring systems.
Furthermore, operators of satellite systems for monitoring climate need to:
(a) Take steps to make radiance calibration, calibration-monitoring and satellite-to-satellite
cross-calibration of the full operational constellation a part of the operational satellite system;
and
(b) Take steps to sample the Earth system in such a way that climate-relevant (diurnal,
seasonal, and long-term inter-annual) changes can be resolved.
Thus satellite systems for climate monitoring should adhere to the following specific principles:
11. Constant sampling within the diurnal cycle (minimizing the effects of orbital decay and orbit
drift) should be maintained.
12. A suitable period of overlap for new and old satellite systems should be ensured for a
period adequate to determine inter-satellite biases and maintain the homogeneity and
consistency of time-series observations.
13. Continuity of satellite measurements (i.e. elimination of gaps in the long-term record)
through appropriate launch and orbital strategies should be ensured.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2, p. 2
14. Rigorous pre-launch instrument characterization and calibration, including radiance
confirmation against an international radiance scale provided by a national metrology
institute, should be ensured.
15. On-board calibration adequate for climate system observations should be ensured and
associated instrument characteristics monitored.
16. Operational production of priority climate products should be sustained and peer-reviewed
new products should be introduced as appropriate.
17. Data systems needed to facilitate user access to climate products, metadata and raw data,
including key data for delayed-mode analysis, should be established and maintained.
18. Use of functioning baseline instruments that meet the calibration and stability requirements
stated above should be maintained for as long as possible, even when these exist on
decommissioned satellites.
19. Complementary in situ baseline observations for satellite measurements should be
maintained through appropriate activities and cooperation.
20. Random errors and time-dependent biases in satellite observations and derived products
should be identified.
_____________
General Comments and additional text suggestions

-
There is need to bring out what the contribution(s) of the following will be:
Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS)
The WMO Severe Weather Demonstration Projects
The ongoing Regional Climate Outlook Forums (COFs)

Much of the document reads well, but there are notable changes in style from place to
place.
It’s always useful to have a definition of all acronyms, especially for enfranchising a wider
audience across WMO and elsewhere.
It is not entirely clear who is the intended audience for the document – who does it need to
influence? The level seems rather general, which may be absolutely fine – or it could be
enhanced by reference to some more detailed papers/articles etc. There are certainly
hydrological ones that could be suggested - for example a recent report ‘Climate and
meteorological information requirements for water management’ which was produced as
part of the CHy work programme in 2010, and there is the 2008 sixth edition of the ‘Guide
to Hydrological Practices’ WMO-No. 168.
An obvious gap seemed to be that of coastal erosion and flooding – presumably this is not
included as it is in part a question of observations over oceans which (section 3) are not
reflected here? Should the point about not considering observations over oceans be made
upfront in the introduction, especially as surface data are highlighted (Introduction,
paragraph 5) as needing new emphasis?
I wonder whether some comment on the extent to which modelled data can to some degree
act as a substitute for aspects of direct data gathering would be useful: implications for
network design seem important.
I wonder also whether it is worth commenting on feedbacks from, say, the hydrological
domain which enhance atmospheric prediction – I am thinking particularly about (near-)
surface water regimes improving boundary condition representation.






Introduction: It might be good to briefly refer to data rescue (mentioned later) and, as well
as errors, to the estimation of uncertainty from a range of causes.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2, p. 3

Human health:
Text suggestion: Human settlement, health and public safety are closely interrelated.
Human settlement patterns are greatly influenced by climate especially in rural areas.
Similarly, vector and water borne diseases are influenced by climate, as are some
physiological conditions. Because of economic circumstances, population increase and
resulting demand for land, human settlements are sometimes established in disaster prone
areas with far reaching implications for health and public safety. Most types of disaster
situations are weather and climate related. Driving conditions on highways are sometimes
influenced by meteorological conditions. Events of heavy rainfall, floods and droughts have
been witnessed in recent years. These events have resulted in serious disruption of human
settlements endangering life and sometimes accompanied by outbreaks of vector and
water borne diseases, famine and malnutrition. It is therefore crucial to factor weather and
climate information into the country’s disaster management strategies

Food security:
1. References to climate change should read as possible or even likely but not as facts,
particularly in the case of rainfall and local conditions: for example, among a number of
occurrences, ‘ ...as climate change modifies the local temperature and rainfall regimes ...’
(in the ‘Food security’ section) is perhaps too strongly stated.
2. Is it worth mentioning the question of climate data appropriate to opportunities for crop
substitution and timescales over which this can be meaningfully established?
3. Substitute suggestion for initial paragraph: The increasing frequency of climate extremes
around the world associated with climate change poses great threats to agriculture and
food security. The increasing demand for food by an ever-increasing world population
compounded by the increasing demand for biofuels has forced agriculture to expand into
more marginal producing areas in many countries. Thus, natural hazards, such as
droughts, floods, heat waves and freezes have and will continue to cause extensive
damage to agricultural productivity that are highly vulnerable during critical growth stages of
crop development including animal husbandry and inland fishery with disease incidence,
and especially susceptible in marginal cultivation areas. When climate extremes and
climate variability have a significant impact on numerous or widespread cultivation areas,
and additional socio-economic pressures add to the commodity trading market, significant
impacts on global food supplies and global food security issues result.
A technologically vigilant regional and global monitoring network is required to ensure early
alerts of droughts, floods, heat waves, freezes, tropical cyclones and other climate events
for agriculture. Soil moisture, crop phenology, and other agricultural phenomena need to be
incorporated into regional and global agricultural forecasting and long-range prediction
models. Furthermore, better communication and dissemination systems need to be
developed to deliver readily usable weather and climate information to the agricultural
decision makers in a timely format. A service delivery service needs to bridge the gap
between climate service providers and the user communities. The providers have useful
technical products; the users need relevant concise decision-making information.
4. Suggestion for additional paragraph: Climate change affects agriculture and food production
in complex ways. It affects food production directly through changes in agro-ecological
conditions and indirectly by affecting growth and distribution of incomes, and thus demand
for agricultural produce. By bringing greater fluctuations in crop yields and local food
supplies and higher risks of landslides and erosion damage, they can adversely affect the
stability of food supplies and thus food security. The importance of the various dimensions
and the overall impact of climate change on food security will differ across regions and over
time and most importantly, will depend on the overall socio-economic status that a country
has accomplished as the effects of climate change set in. The recent IPCC report also
emphasizes that increases in daily temperature will increase the frequency of food
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2, p. 4
poisoning, particularly in temperate regions. Extreme rainfall events can increase the risk of
outbreaks of water-borne diseases particularly where traditional water management
systems are insufficient to handle the new extremes namely food availability (i.e.,
production and trade), access to food, stability of food supplies, and food utilization.
5. The text covers food production, but not any of the multitude of access and safety issues
that are important for food security. How about changing the title?
6. Text suggestion: In order to be able to contribute to food security, it is necessary to evaluate
the thermal and hydric requirements for food-security crops and those for exportation.
7. Text suggestion: We also need to better handle tradeoffs between achieving water, energy
and food security and climate change. Ideally, mitigation and adaptation strategies should
complement each other in order to manage climate change risks. However, the relationship
within the water sector is a reciprocal one. Mitigation measures can influence water
resources and on the other hand, water management plans & policies can have an
influence on energy use (and GHG) emissions. As a result, interventions in the water
system might be counter-productive when evaluated in terms of climate change mitigation.
For example:
Farm level: Farm level energy-intensive adaption responses to scarcity in the water sector
may be counter-productive climate change mitigation. Furthermore, farmers could be
worse-off if they have to pay the price of increase emission as a result of energy-intensive
adaption.
National level: The tradeoffs could be evident at national policies. For example in
Australia, national water reforms for increasing long term water supplies through
infrastructure investment may increase energy use which could be against the mandates of
emission reduction policies and programs.
Global level: Similarly, at global level interaction between climate change governance and
other global challenges. International institutions for climate change governance contribute
to and detract from efforts to better manage freshwater resources and biodiversity. It is
expected that climate change policies may result in increasing water consumption,
including through greater use of water to sequester carbon and generate low-carbon
energy by deploying technologies such as afforestation, carbon capture and storage, and
biofuels. There has been little interplay of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change with other, water-related environmental agreements – the Convention on Biological
Diversity, and Ramsar Convention on Wetlands - and many climate response policies are
destructive for freshwater ecosystems and resources
Therefore, there is greater need to understand interdependencies and interplays and need
to offers some directions for governance reform to maximize integration of climate change
responses with sustainable water management.

Tourism:
1. Section appears disproportionately large – but this may be counteracted by comments
coming in from others proposing additions to other sections.
2. The use of the words “will” and “would” should be noted. They carry different meanings but
are seemingly used interchangeably in this section

Fresh Water:
1. The wording of the section depends somewhat on the content of ‘the SOG for Hydrology’
referred to following the title of the section. But, strangely, even as a CHy AWG member, I
don’t know of this document and have not yet been able to track it down.
TT-UI/Doc. 7, Appendix 2, p. 5
2. The section currently has an emphasis on water resources for human use. Associated
water quality issues – chemical and biological – should perhaps be noted. Whilst ‘Food
security’ is the subject of another section, it might be worth under ‘Fresh water’ briefly
indicating the issues of irrigated/non-irrigated/drained agriculture. Beyond water resources
in these senses, one might want to mention flood risk and management (surface and
groundwater), industrial water supply, ecological habitat issues, sedimentation, fisheries
and navigation.
3. Regarding characteristics of data under the ‘Fresh water’ section, the need for a range of
space and time scale information across the components of the water cycle appropriate to
different concerns should be emphasized. The importance of data to enhance
methods/models for extrapolation to hydrologically information-sparse areas, the
importance of extremes both high and low, and the importance of knowledge of
uncertainties associated with data and their interpretation, could briefly be mentioned.
4. Effects of land use and land cover as related to siltation and pollution of surface and ground
water sources should be added.