The Gap between Availability and Use of Remotely Sensed Climate and Weather Data

To be effective, climate services should facilitate availability, access and use of climate information. While integration of appropriate forms of physical science is a necessity for a sustainable, effective climate service, it is only one of the necessary considerations in the climate service development process. Some of the non-physical science driven processes include outlining communication processes, identification of user-groups and key decision makers, assessment of perceptions climate-related risk and exploration of the underlying governance structures.

Remotely sensed data is increasingly changing the way in which climate services are developed and evaluated. This is leading to a potential shrinking of the data-availability gap on a global scale, however the impact on the use of the data is more difficult to assess.

This work outlines some important considerations, using case studies from Africa, South America and/or Asia, relative to increasing the likelihood that available data will be useful for decision making.