The Twenty First Session of the Forum on Regional Climate Monitoring, Assessment and Prediction for Asia (FOCRAII) opened in Qingdao, Shandong, China on May 14.

The Forum also attracts domestic and international representatives from the Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and over 30 countries and regions, including China, the United States, Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam,  Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and others, and also from the China Meteorological Administration, Nanjing Normal University, Fudan University, Nanjing University of Information of Information Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, and Jimo District Government, and so on.

Group photo Photoed by SHAO Zhinan

Mr. Ben Churchill, Director of Regional Office for Asia and the South-West Pacific (RAP), WMO stressed that through robust partnerships, we can elevate the work of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), enhance the visibility and accessibility of climate information, and develop more meaningful, impactful products and services for stakeholders and communities throughout Asia.

In an online address, Mr. Ardhasena Sopaheluwakan, Vice-president of the WMO Commission for Weather, Climate, Hydrological, Marine and Related Environmental Services and Applications (SERCOM) and the Deputy Head for Climatology in the Agency for Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) of Indonesia remarked that participants should transform science into services to better support relevant decisions, and also be committed to helping different countries and regions enhance climate resilience and better address the challenges brought about by climate change.

The Forum contains 41 offline and online reports in total. From May 14 to 16, representatives will share the latest research and exchange discussions on climate services development, new technologies and methods like artificial intelligence, and climate prediction and seasonal climate prediction. They will also consult on the sub-seasonal to seasonal prediction project (S2S) and reach consensus on the forecast conclusions adopted by all WMO Regional Association II (Asia) (RA II) Members.

This session is hosted by WMO and Beijing Climate Centre and WMO, and sponsored by Shandong Provincial Meteorological Service.

Since 2005, FOCRAII has been held for 21 sessions. Over 720 overseas experts and scholars from 69 countries and regions (including 32 Members of WMO RA II) have attended this event, and over 160 representatives have also participated in relevant training courses.

Editor: LIU Shuqiao