The Year of Polar Prediction aims to improve predictions of weather, climate and ice conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic, by adding special observing periods to increase the number of routine observations.
The WMO Executive Council also discussed: how to strengthen weather and climate services to protect lives, property and the economy from extreme and unusual weather; and WMO’s contribution to the global agenda on disaster risk reduction (DRR), sustainable development and climate change.
18 May 2017: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has launched the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP), a two-year effort to increase polar weather and sea-ice monitoring, close gaps in polar forecasting capacity and improve future environmental safety in the polar regions.
The YOPP was launched at the 69th session of the WMO Executive Council, which met in Geneva, Switzerland, from 10-17 May 2017, and will take place from mid-2017 to mid-2019 in order to cover an entire year in both the Arctic and Antarctic. YOPP aims to improve predictions of weather, climate and ice conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic, by adding special observing periods to increase the number of routine observations. The WMO gained observer status in the Arctic Council at the Council Ministerial Meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska, US, which met from 10-11 May 2017.
The WMO has announced “world records” for the highest reported historical death tolls from tropical cyclones, tornadoes, lightning and hailstorms.
The WMO Executive Council also discussed: how to strengthen weather and climate services to protect lives, property and the economy from extreme and unusual weather; WMO’s contribution to the global agenda on disaster risk reduction (DRR), sustainable development and climate change; awareness raising of WMO’s expertise on water and ocean affairs; and efforts to enhance partnerships within the UN system to develop, among other things, a potential global alarm system to warn of extreme weather events.
In addition, the WMO has announced “world records” for the highest reported historical death tolls from tropical cyclones, tornadoes, lightning and hailstorms. This is the first time the World Weather and Climate Extremes Archive, an archive that verifies, certifies and stores global weather extremes, has addressed the impacts of specific events. WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas underscored that the “human aspect inherent in extreme events should never be lost.”
Experts explained that: mortality can decrease with improved forecasting and warning infrastructure; vulnerability is a function of the risk of and resilience to an event; and identifying baseline changes in weather-related mortality over the past 150 years is critical. The findings were announced ahead the 2017 Global Platform for DRR, which took place in Cancun, Mexico, from 22-26 May 2017.
These efforts will help achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13 (climate action) and 14 (life below water). [UN Press Release on Executive Council Meeting] [WMO Press Release on Executive Council Meeting] [UN Press Release on WMO’s World Records] [UN Press Release on the Polar Weather and Sea Ice Monitoring] [WMO Press Release on YOPP] [Polar Prediction Project Webpage] [World Weather and Climate Extremes Archive]