Climate Information and Services are Helping Vulnerable Countries Adapt to Climate Change

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Climate Information and Services are Helping Vulnerable Countries Adapt to Climate Change

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been providing climate information and early warning systems to vulnerable people, living in the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change.

On their website, they reported that they were able to reach 10 million people for the past 12 years.

These climate information and early warning systems are effective climate adaptation strategies because they help farmers in their production and marketing, build resilience against floods, droughts and extreme weather events.  

These ultimately benefit the lives and livelihoods of these vulnerable people and contributes towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SGD).

The UNDP climate information and early warning system program started in 2002 and supported by the Green Climate Funded, Adaptation Fund, and Global Environment Facility.  

The program was able to install more than 800 automated weather stations, 245 early wanting systems, trained more than 3600 technicians and officials on climate data generation, modelling, and interpretation, in 50 countries composed of 33 least developed countries and 11 small island developing states.

The website contains several case studies on how climate information and early warning systems have impacted the lives and livelihood of their residents.

For example, people in Malawi are vulnerable to floods and highly dependent on fishing in the lake for their livelihood.

Climate information and early warning systems in the form of lightning detection systems and weather-monitoring lake buoys enable them to

  • save their fishing equipment, properties and infrastructure;
  • save lives by allowing them to find a safe shelter during storms or floods; and
  • prevent their fishermen to go to the lake during unfavourable and dangerous weather conditions.

In Uganda, 80 per cent of their population is depended on rain-fed agriculture. Climate change makes it harder to predict weather patterns and as a result, places the livelihoods of Uganda farmers at risk.

With the help of weather monitoring systems, farmers can get up to date weather information and improved crop forecast to help farmers with their farming practises and trading.

Sierra Leone’s 3-day non-stop rain in August 2017 has triggered a mudslide that killed 500 people and displaced over 4 thousand residents.  In addition to erratic climatic events in recent years, the country has experienced droughts, sea-level rise, and increased humidity making them one of the most vulnerable countries in Africa.

Through the UNDP supported climate informant and early warning systems project, they have installed eight Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) that provides real-time climate data that allows meteorologist to create short to medium and long-term forecasts. Government and the public can use this information for disaster management, help farmers, protect businesses, and protect recent development gains.

The website provides more case studies on the usefulness and efficiency of climate information and early warning systems on the lives and livelihood of those most vulnerable to climate change.

It allows them to make informed decisions and adapt to climate change, reduce their vulnerability while allowing them to build resilience against climate extremes.

Visit the website and learn more by CLICKING on the link below:

Source citation:

Information is Power (19 March 2020). UNDP Climate. Retrieved from https://undp-adaptation.exposure.co/world-met-day-2020

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