Rapid change in polar regions necessitates global response
GENEVA 15 MAY, 2017 - A concerted international campaign to improve predictions of weather, climate and ice conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic has been launched to minimize the environmental risks and maximize the opportunities associated with rapid climate change in polar regions and to close the current gaps in polar forecasting capacity.
The Year of Polar Prediction takes place from mid-2017 to mid-2019 in order to cover an entire year in both the Arctic and Antarctic and involves the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and a wide array of partners around the globe.
During the next two years, a large international and interdisciplinary network of scientists and operational forecasting centers will jointly undertake intensive observation and modeling activities in the Arctic and Antarctic. As a result, better forecasts of weather and sea-ice conditions will reduce future risks and enable safety management in the polar regions, and also lead to improved forecasts in lower latitudes where most people live.