Get All the SDG News That You Need on the Weather Report

The World Economic Forum ranks climate action failure and extreme weather as the two top global risks over the next ten years. In 2020, more than 30 million people were displaced by climate-related disasters. Wow, just think about that for a minute. How are we going to address this? Of recent I've been deep diving into the work of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (try saying it three times fast!) and uncovered much more than just pretty maps and beautiful photos of our planet. Here are two ways the WMO (and IPCC) use weather reports and climate data making the SDGs happen.

Climate Change Accountability

WMO may be small compared to other UN agencies, but it packs a big punch. How? Through sensor, satellite and map data WMO brings together weather information from across the world. It works with private and public sector to release earth observations about our planet. And it's not just info to help you plan your picnic. By sharing climate data WMO tells us whether we're on track to limit?global warming?to?1.5 degrees Celsius. The Paris Agreement, climate goals of Agenda 2030, and Sendai framework on disaster risk reduction all need climate data to assess progress on their targets. The data holds nations to account, reminding everyone that we have to do more, both individually and together, multilaterally, to preserve our only habitat.

Data for Decision-Making

In addition to keeping us on target, earth data can tell us about some really interesting stuff about human challenges. Tracking weather patterns, land terrain and inhabited areas helps communities prepare for disasters in advance using early warning systems. Earth observations also give us information about temperature and air quality which can be linked to human diseases ranging from malaria to cancer. This helps countries prevent outbreaks and respond to health issues by training medical professionals and stocking health centers.

It's not just big data making an impact, I recently evaluated a UNDP partnership with Tech-Innov in Niger, a country where nearly?20 percent of the population cannot meet their food needs?because of factors including inadequate agricultural production. Tech-Innov uses a tele-irrigation system that tracks in-situ data on soil moisture and rainfall and then couples that information with satellite meteorological information to assess agricultural conditions. Its tele-irrigation system then automatically waters crops according to data on weather conditions. Tech-Innov's technology has been a lifeline for farmers growing on drought-prone land, especially when COVID restrictions limited farmers' ability to travel to tend to crops. I'm currently assessing a private sector partnership for a UNDP project in Tanzania using geospatial information to better plan for urban population growth and address informal settlements. Geospatial images and data also help countries assess and preserve the health of their UNESCO cultural heritage sites by evaluating the land and water activity taking place at each site, as is being done currently in Greece. The sky is the limit (pun intended!) on the list of innovative ways earth observations support the SDGs.

More on UN Programmes

Want to learn more? Check out WMO's Group on Earth Observations whose work programme includes about 65 activities using earth observations to help meet Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030 targets. WMO and UNDRR recently established a Centre of Excellence to research and better explain how extreme weather amplifies disaster impacts. And last but not least, don't miss the latest IPCC report that the UN Secretary-General has declared “a code red for humanity”.

Television meteorologists, once considered comic relief to news anchors, are now being seen as covering crisis in real time. So even if I exaggerated a little bit and you don't get ALL the SDG news you need on the weather report, you'll definitely get a lot more than you bargained for. Earth observation data adds another dimension of information to our understanding of progress on the SDGs. And as technology keeps evolving with AI and machine learning, the observations from our planet will only increase, hopefully giving us more insight on how to improve our human and planet condition.