Background of climate services

“For public health, climate change is the defining issue for the 21st century”
Margaret Chan, World Health Organization

A climate service is a decision aide derived from climate information that assists individuals and organizations in society to make improved ex-ante decision-making. A climate service requires appropriate and iterative engagement to produce a timely advisory that end-users can comprehend and which can aid their decision-making and enable early action and preparedness. Climate services need to be provided to users in a seamless manner and, most of all, need to respond to user requirements.

Hellmuth M.E., Mason S.J., Vaughan C., van Aalst M.K. and Choularton R. (eds) 2011. A Better Climate for Disaster Risk Management. International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), Columbia University, New York, USA.

Climate services provide climate information to help individuals and organizations make climate smart decisions

Global Framework for Climate Services focuses on developing and delivering services in five priority areas, which address issues basic to the human condition and present the most immediate opportunities for bringing benefits to human safety and wellbeing: Agriculture and Food Security, Disaster Risk Reduction, Energy, Health and Water.

https://public.wmo.int/en/bulletin/what-do-we-mean-climate-services