The Full Picture

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sion makers to understand the state of the Earth’s climate and its vari-

ation and change during the past year. Many observing and analysis

systems are unique to particular countries or regions, but through this

effort, the information from each system can be openly shared. The

report has proven crucial to transitioning data to operational use and

filling critical gaps in current knowledge about the state of the global

climate system.

The

State of the Climate

report seeks to include as many GCOS

Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) as possible.

Because the report

focuses on the Earth system as a whole, spatial and temporal gaps

in data coverage are more easily identified as well as deficiencies in

operational systems that provide access to those data. Solutions for

filling those gaps are developed through coordination among scien-

tists from participating countries, which in turn supports monitoring

and analysis of ECVs that was previously impossible. This exem-

plifies how experts from numerous and diverse countries can work

together on an ongoing basis to provide information which is essen-

tial to environmental decision making.

The combination of data collection, analysis and reporting on

climate conditions through the

State of the Climate

report is closely

aligned with the scope and principles of GEOSS. With a focus on

integrating observing system data to useful and accessible infor-

mation, the

State of the Climate

report serves as a hallmark

achievement of GEOSS efforts to use integrated global Earth obser-

vations to monitor and enhance the understanding of climate

variability and change. It serves as an avenue for providing infor-

mation that decision makers can use to better understand the

changing environmental factors that affect human health and well

being. It also positions them to anticipate and manage future risks

associated with climate variation and change.

Scientists from institutions in 21 GEO member coun-

tries participated in

State of the Climate

reporting in

2007, with scientists from an additional dozen countries

that are not yet GEO members also making key contri-

butions.

Monitoring the state of

the climate in the future

The

State of the Climate

report is distributed through

publication in the bulletin of the American Meteorological

Society each year. The report is also translated into other

languages and distributed to WMO member nations.

Included in the 2006 report was a summary of more than

20 ECVs, from beneath the ocean surface to the upper

atmosphere, and in every region of the world. A diverse

set of topics included but was not limited to: surface and

upper air temperature, precipitation, atmospheric trace

gases, ocean salinity, circulation and carbon content, snow

cover, sea ice, sea level, and stratospheric ozone.

The focus for the future will be on bringing together

new contributing partners from other GEO member

countries and further enhancing capabilities associated

with the collection, processing and analysis of data from

newly deployed observing systems. Potential linkages

with additional GEO participating organizations will

also be explored, with efforts focused on enhancing the

capacity to observe, analyse and report on many more

ECVs in future reports. This will provide leaders with

an even greater resource for monitoring the Earth’s

climate.

Significant climate anomalies and events in 2006

The 2006

State of the Climate

report included more than 130 pages of text summaries along with more than 100 graphs and depictions of significant

weather and climate conditions combined with historical perspective provided by decades to centuries of climate observations

Source: State of the Climate working group

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