On the concept of climate services development in Ukraine

Abstract

Climate change in any region leads to both a noticeable increase in the intensity and impact of extreme hydrometeorological phenomena and to emergence of new climatic threats. Thus it is highly important to develop and implement the measures allowing adaptation to climate and weather extreme phenomena associated with modern global warming. One of the top priorities of climate change adaptation strategies includes establishment of national/regional systems of climate services. The paper offers the ways of addressing such an urgent and important task for Ukraine as establishment of a national climate services system and analyzes the role of the National Hydrometeorological Service of Ukraine in this process. Ukraine has an extensive network of hydrometeorological observation and monitoring assets. The National Hydrometeorological Service also has many years of positive experience and scientifically valid methods related to creation and distribution of climate information. However, establishing a national climate services system requires considerable improvement of interaction of climate products providers, scientists and climate services end-users, including the government, society, communities, private sector, technical partners and donors. It implies the transition from the current system of climate information formation and distribution in the form of climatic standard reports that contain basic climatic indices and indicators to a new system of climate information formation and distribution with application of modern information and communication systems. The research considers an option of establishing the Council on Climate Services within the Government's Inter-Agency Commission on Climate Change and Ozone Layer Protection that would provide an institutional framework for permanent interaction and development of such climate services system. It also studies the tasks and functions of this new organizational mechanism. Based on the results of extensive surveys and interviews of both suppliers and end-users of climate services in Ukraine the paper lists the problems that hamper implementation of the World Meteorological Organization's recommendations and should be resolved by the National Hydrometeorological Service, and analyzes the existing solutions. The following are the most important issues to be addressed as soon as possible: (1) technical re-equipment and maintenance of the Ukrainian network of climatic stations; (2) development of the Service's HR potential via the existing system of training and advanced training; (3) coordination of researches focused on the past, current and future state of the regional climate, in particular, development of techniques for evaluation of climate risks related to the current climate and its future change scenarios, assessment of the society's vulnerability to variability and change of climate in general and the vulnerability of certain sectors of the economy in particular.

Keywords

• adaptation to climate change
• climate services
• the national hydrometeorological service
• the global framework for climate services