GLOBAL CLIMATE OBSERVING SYSTEM (GCOS)

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Context: According to a declaration released by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) conference, Climate observing system remains fragile and needs financing for strengthening and sustaining it.

Details:

• The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) is a co-sponsored programme which regularly assesses the status of global climate observations and produces guidance for its improvement.  
• It is co-sponsored by the
  • World Meteorological Organization (WMO),
  • Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO),
  • United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), and
  • International Science Council (ISC).
• GCOS expert panels maintain definitions of Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) which are required to systematically observe Earth`s changing climate.
• The observations supported by GCOS contribute to solving challenges in climate research and also underpin climate services and adaptation measures.
• GCOS conference was hosted by Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), from 17-19 October 2022.
• Operational monitoring of the climate and detection of global climatic changes are thefundamental objectives of 

Findings:

• The status of climate observation systems has not improved much in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia since 2015, according to State of Global Observation Systems, 2021.
• Africa, South America and South-East Asia urged prioritising advancements in climate observation systems. Prioritisation must also be given to polar and deep ocean observing systems.
• There is a need to focus on improving data quality, availability, accessibility and utility. The climate observations are underexploited as the processing of the available data has been inconsistent, the declaration underlined.
• More efforts are required to ensure the data is available for reanalysis in an easy-to-use format. Long-term time-series data on climate change is essential to understand and address the existential crisis.
• The conference called for access to climate data through global data repositories. In addition, access to climate data must be made free and open.
• The climate observations made by national agencies need support along with regional and global coordination, experts said. They called for advancements in local climate change information networks.
• GCOS Implementation Plan2022, released by the WMO, also identified gaps in earth observations and areas that require improvement. The plan will be presented at COP27.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/climate-observing-system-remains-fragile-needs-funding-experts-85666