Description:

The AMS Climate Services Committee is currently developing a comprehensive best practices document to help guide both providers and users of climate services to address the impacts of climate variability and change. Recent occurrences of climate extremes, and the knowledge that the risk of these anomalies is increasing, have highlighted the vulnerabilities of natural resources and infrastructure to a changing climate. The provision of custom climate products therefore has become increasingly necessary to aide in planning and preparedness activities. Users require the data and expertise that climate services imparts to help inform decisions that will reduce vulnerability, increase resilience, and foster sustainability. As the demand increases for custom data-driven climate solutions, it is important to offer guidance to those who both provide and use climate services. This town hall will begin with an overview of the information contained in the best practices document, including a definition of climate services, guiding principles for providing climate information, the existing infrastructure of climate services in the U.S., and who/what comprises the user community. This town hall also serves as an opportunity for open discussion on the current status of climate services in the various public, private, and government sectors and where we go from here.