In the face of growing challenges from climate change, extreme weather and environmental hazards in Southeast Asia, a regional conference is exploring how to strengthen adaptation and resilience.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have convened the regional forum in Singapore from 4 to 6 September 2024, supported by the Meteorological Service of Singapore.
The forum provides a platform to consolidate knowledge, share best practices and enhance the region's overall resilience against extreme weather and climate change-related hazards. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss how climate services can better serve their adaptation needs at the regional, national and local levels with detailed climate information and impact assessments.
The forum brings together experts from across the climate services value chain. This includes national and regional climate service providers, as well as adaptation practitioners and end-users in climate-sensitive sectors from Southeast Asia and beyond. They will discuss related climate issues including the impact of climate change on food security and heat health, urban planning and coastal protection in the region, the tools available for addressing these challenges, and how climate change scenarios can be integrated into long-term planning as an adaptation strategy.
Participants will also explore how early warning systems for hazardous weather and climate events can be leveraged as a key adaptive measure in an already warming climate and how to gather regional support to accelerate the global Early Warnings For All (EW4All) initiative.
"From food security to heat resilience, climate services provide critical information that help build the region's resilience to climate change, often involving collaboration among stakeholders across borders. The ASMC-WMO Regional Forum provides a useful and timely platform for participants to share insights, gain better informed decision-making and enhance our preparedness for climate change and extreme weather events," said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Singapore, Ms Grace Fu.
"WMO is committed to working with the ASEAN Specialized Meteorological Centre to strengthen weather and climate services in the region and ensure all people everywhere are protected by life-saving early warning systems," said WMO Secretary-General, Prof Celeste Saulo.
Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre for Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution Forecasts
Minister Fu also announced that Singapore has been officially designated as a WMO Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for Vegetation Fire and Smoke Pollution forecasts (RSMC-VFSP) following the recent approval by the WMO Executive Council.
This is in line with Singapore's ongoing efforts to support the Southeast Asian region's ability to address climate and environmental challenges.
The RSMC-VFSP (Singapore) is one of the first two of such WMO regional centres worldwide that were established to deliver timely and quality vegetation fire and smoke pollution forecasts, observations, information and knowledge to users through an international partnership of research and operational communities. Hosted by the Meteorological Service of Singapore, the centre will enhance the region's ability to manage the effects of vegetation fires and smoke pollution in the region, by providing operational information and products on regional vegetation fires and smoke pollution to the region.
It will conduct atmospheric smoke haze dispersion modelling and provide forecast products to advise on fire activity and surface concentration of pollutants originating from fires in the region. The centre will provide data and information that is relevant and helpful for specific national agencies responsible for the environment, public health, fire management and enforcement. These data and information include dispersion model forecasts, satellite images and hotspots, as well as fire risk and subseasonal outlook products which are provided through a public website.
Minister Fu said, "The designation of Singapore as the RSMC-VFSP was a culmination of over three decades of support to the Southeast Asia region in the areas of fires and haze monitoring, assessment and early warning under the ASMC."
Such RSMCs are part of the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS), a worldwide network of operational centres operated by WMO Members that make defined products and services operationally available. These efforts are facilitated by the WMO Information System (WIS), which supports international data exchange.
State of the Climate
The urgent need for better climate services was underlined by WMO's recent reports on the State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific and in Asia showed that climate change is intensifying at an alarming rate in Southeast Asia and the South-West Pacific, with temperatures and sea-level rise exceeding global averages. It is exacerbating the effects of natural climate drivers like El Niño and La Niña.
"This new regional State of the Climate reports will raise awareness of the urgency to act. Weather-related disasters have a major negative impact on socio-economic development, health, food and water security, and on people's daily lives," said Celeste Saulo.
"Although most reported losses are water-related, we know that extreme heat is rapidly becoming a deadly problem. Thus, for instance, a major and prolonged heatwave affected much of Southeast Asia in April and May 2023, with new maximum temperature records. And the same pattern was repeated again in 2024," she said.
The State of the Climate regional reports were prepared in cooperation with National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and other international partners.
