Met Office makes climate data more accessible

Climate Data Portal uses geospatial technology to extend reach and value of climate data so AEC users can better respond to climate change

The UK Met Office has launched a new Climate Data Portal to help organisations better understand and respond to climate change through improved access to climate data.

Built using geospatial technology from Esri UK, the portal makes it easier for any business or government organisation to combine open climate data with their own data and reveal the future impact of extreme conditions on their operations, including heatwaves, floods or droughts.

The main users are expected to be within government, construction, engineering, land use, urban planning, transport and energy industries.

The portal aims to present complex scientific climate projections in easy-to-use formats, ready to visualise and analyse in GIS and non-spatial applications or integrate into business processes for improved decision making.

Spatial analysis can be performed at a global, regional or local level enabling location-specific action plans to be developed.

“Historically, climate science has defined the problem, now it’s moving to help with the solution, providing information at a local level which is highly relevant to UK organisations,” explained Professor Jason Lowe, Head of Climate Services at the Met Office. “By combining the Met Office’s latest projections with Esri UK’s geospatial tools, the reach and value of this data is greatly extended.

“UK stakeholders can investigate their physical climate risks over the next 50 to 100 years. The most detailed climate projections reveal a greater chance of warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers and these help users plan and prepare for extreme weather, climate change and the reporting which new regulations, linked to climate change, will require.”

“The Climate Data Portal is a giant step forward in making climate data more usable for UK stakeholders,” commented Pete Wilkinson, managing director of Esri UK. “Climate change presents a major challenge and this challenge is a geographic one. Using geospatial technology as a delivery mechanism for climate data makes it quickly accessible and usable in spatial and temporal analysis, helping to identify at-risk areas and develop location-specific action plans.”

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