12/05/2023
The "Training in Climate Services" course has been made possible thanks to inter-institutional cooperation, which is key in the fight against climate change
Participants of the course "Training in Climate Services" at the AECID Centre in Antigua, Guatemala
The course “Training in Climate Services”, which will benefit 22 students from 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, will run until 19 May. The activity has been organised in the framework of the European Union’s Euroclima Programme and is taking place at the Training Centre in La Antigua, Guatemala, of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
The aim of the activity is to train experts from the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries in the provision of climate services and to provide knowledge of the characteristics of regionalised climate change scenarios. The activity is in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”.
The programme of classes and activities on climate services and scenarios is given by expert faculty from the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the Regional Training Centre of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV).
Among the issues addressed in the course are the creation and management of climate databases; the development of climate change indicators; the use and interpretation of seasonal forecasts and climate projections; the creation and management of climate services; and tools and strategies for communicating data to potential users.
According to the special report on managing extreme weather and disaster risks to enhance adaptation to climate change, presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “extreme weather events, exposure and vulnerability are influenced by a wide range of factors, including anthropogenic climate change, natural climate variability and socio-economic development. Disaster risk management and climate change adaptation focus on reducing exposure and vulnerability and increasing resilience to the potential adverse impacts of extreme climate events, even though risks cannot be completely eliminated”.
In this sense, the creation of immediate and reliable climate information is essential to anticipate possible weather scenarios and contribute to the adoption of preventive measures. This makes it possible to reduce risks and vulnerabilities in sectors that depend on scientific information to plan their activities: agriculture, fisheries, water management, among others. However, in order to generate reliable climate information, it is necessary to have up-to-date meteorological services, as well as the exchange of information and access to existing databases.
This activity brings together 22 officials from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic, belonging to the Conference of Directors of Ibero-American Meteorological and Hydrological Services (CIMHET). The course is the result of collaboration between the programmes of several institutions with extensive experience in development cooperation and international training in meteorology:
– Capacity Building Project on Climate Change Scenarios of the European Union’s Euroclima Programme, implemented by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Public Administration and Policies (FIIAPP).
– AECID Intercoonecta 2022-2023 Programme Provision of meteorological and climate services for disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change
– Faculty with expertise in climate services and scenarios from AEMET as a WMO Regional Centre, and
– Faculty from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili under the agreement signed with AEMET for training activities.
