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						<title>World Meteorological Organization News</title>
						<link>http://www.wmo.int</link>
						<description>News from WMO
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						<language>en</language>
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							<title>World Meteorological Organization</title>
							<url>http://www.wmo.int/rss/logo.gif</url>
							<link>http://www.wmo.int/</link>
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					 <title>2013 summer climate outlook for West Africa and Sahel</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/index_en.html#outlook</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[West Africa and the Sahel region is not expected to experience severe precipitation deficits during the July-September rainy season, according to the seasonal climate outlook issued the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD). ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:03:17 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>Active Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/ExtremelyActiveAtlanticHurricaneSeason.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from 1 June to 30 November, is expected to be active because of a combination of climate factors.
 
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center forecast a 70 percent likelihood of 13 to 20 named storms (winds of 63 kilometers per hour/39 miles per hour or higher), of which 7 to 11 could become hurricanes (winds of 119 kmh/74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 178 kph/ 111 mph or higher).  
These ranges are well above the seasonal average of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. 
 ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2013 15:30:02 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>African communities benefit from severe weather forecasting project</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/AfricaSevereWeatherForcastingProject.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[An acclaimed WMO project to strengthen the capacity of meteorological services in developing countries to forecast hazardous weather is being rolled out in Southern and Eastern Africa, where it is making a significant contribution to disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.

The Severe Weather Forecasting Demonstration Project has improved the lead-time and reliability for alerts about high-impact events such as heavy rain, severe winds and high waves, thus helping to save lives and property and supporting vital sectors like farming and fishing.

The project shares the expertise and sophisticated forecast and training products of top-level global centres with national public weather services in participating developing countries. It was piloted in 2007 in Southern Africa and now embraces 16 countries in the region, and was introduced in six Eastern African nations in September 2011.

East Africa Community (EAC) heads of National Meteorological Services joined a meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, 27-31 May to discuss achievements and challenges and provide direction on future implementation.This will inform the EAC five-year Meteorological Development Plan and Investment Strategy. ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2013 15:28:16 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>Sub-seasonal to seasonal prediction office set up</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/index_en.html#seasonalprediction</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[The Korean Meteorological Administration is to host a new International Coordination Office of a project which aims to improve predictions at sub-seasonal to seasonal timescales. Improved weather-to-climate forecasts promise to be of significant social and economic value, especially in agriculture and food security, water resources management, transportation and tourism to just name a few applications.
A memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the office, to be based on Jeju island, was signed by World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Michel Jarraud and Lee Ilsoo, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to WMO. ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 15:28:00 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>WMO sponsors workshop in Jordan on Climate Watch systems</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/workshopinJordanonClimateWatchsystems.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[WMO is sponsoring a workshop on climate monitoring, including the implementation of Climate Watch systems for Arab countries in West Asia.
The meeting in Amman, Jordan, 27-30 May, is organized by the Jordan Meteorological Department. It will consider how to implement Climate Watch systems in the region by maximizing existing infrastructure and expertise.
Given that extreme climate events have a negative impact on the well-being of populations andsustainable development, there is a need to improve climate risk management capabilities. This necessitates an efficient extreme weather and climate warning system, based on the continuous monitoring and forecasting of climate anomalies, is such a warning system. ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 15:27:38 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>WMO participates in Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/fourthGlobalPlatformforDisasterRiskReduction.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[Disaster risk reduction is at the core of the mission of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs,). as over 90% of disasters are linked to weather, climate- and water-related hazards. Climate change is expected to lead to an increase in the intensity and frequency of some of these hazards. WMO is therefore an active participant in the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction 19 to 23 May 2013.
About 4,600 representatives from governments, civil society and the private sector are expected to attend the Global Platform "Invest Today for a safer tomorrow: Resilient People Resilient Planet." The event is organized by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction. Discussions will focus on a follow-up action plan to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, which is a global initiative to make the world safer from natural hazards. ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 15:27:16 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>WMO Executive Council meets as cyclone underlines need for weather warnings</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/WMOEXECUTIVECOUNCIL.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[The Executive Council of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) opened its annual meeting 15 May to review progress and challenges in providing weather, climate and water services to meet the growing needs of society. The development of cyclonic storm Mahasen, which could potentially impact more than 8 million people in the Bay of Bengal, underlined the vital role of meteorological warnings to protect lives and property.
Enhanced disaster risk reduction, improved quality and use of tropical cyclone warnings and public weather service delivery are on the agenda of the Executive Council. ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 15:26:51 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>Observed concentrations of CO2 cross 400 parts per million threshold at several Global Atmosphere Watch stations</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/index_en.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[Observed concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere have exceeded the symbolic 400 parts per million (ppm) threshold at several stations of the World Meteorological Organization's Global Atmosphere Watch network. This is a wakeup call about the constantly rising levels of this greenhouse gas, which is released into the atmosphere by fossil fuel burning and other human activities and is the main driver of climate change. Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for thousands of years, trapping heat and causing our planet to warm further, impacting on all aspects of life on earth.

On May 9, 2013, the daily mean concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, recorded a reading of 400.03 ppm, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Mauna Loa is the oldest continuous atmospheric measurement station in the world and so is widely regarded as a benchmark site in the Global Atmosphere Watch.

Several other Global Atmosphere Watch stations have also reported CO2 concentrations exceeding the 400 ppm threshold during the seasonal maximum. This occurs early in the northern hemisphere spring before vegetation growth absorbs CO2.
 ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 11:51:08 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>Atlas of Health and Climate Available in Six Languages</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/index_en.html#atlasEN</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[As the world's climate continues to change, hazards to human health are increasing. The Atlas of Health and Climate, published jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), illustrates some of the most pressing current and emerging challenges. Droughts, floods and cyclones affect the health of millions of people each year. Climate variability and extreme conditions such as floods can also trigger epidemics of diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria, dengue and meningitis, which cause death and suffering for many millions more. The Atlas gives practical examples of how the use of weather and climate information can protect public health. The Atlas, which has received widespread acclaim, is now available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.  ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:03:03 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>WMO Information System is strengthened</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/WMOInformationSystemisstrengthened.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[Two new Global Information System Centres have become operational under the World Meteorological Organization Information System which aims to improve and expand the current exchange of weather, climate and water data.

Global Information System Centres Seoul (Republic of Korea) and Melbourne (Australia) became operational 29 March and 16 April 2013 respectively. They join Beijing (China); Exeter (UK), Offenbach (Germany), Tokyo (Japan), and Toulouse (France), which became operational in 2012.

The WMO Information System makes it easier to find and use meteorological observations and products and to share them with a wide variety of stakeholders such as the research and disaster risk reduction communities. Successfully receiving, transmitting and handling weather, climate and environmental information is vital for sustainable economic development.
 ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:03:31 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>Hurricane Committee Learns Lessons from Sandy, Retires Name</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/HurricaneCommitteeLearnsLessonsfromSandy.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[The World Meteorological Organization's Hurricane Committee has agreed to changes in its hurricane and tropical storm watch and warning system to take into account lessons learned from Sandy - which has now been retired from the official rotating list of names because of the devastation caused in October 2012. Sandy will be replaced by Sara.
The Hurricane Committee adopted a proposal from its Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) in Miami to broaden hurricane and tropical storm watch and warning definitions to allow these watches and warnings to remain in effect after a tropical cyclone becomes post-tropical, when such a storm poses a significant threat to life and property. 
In future, the RSMC Miami will ensure a continuity of service by continuing to issue advisories during the post-tropical stage, when a storm poses a significant threat to life and property.
These changes were motivated by the special challenges posed by Hurricane Sandy, which evolved from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone prior to reaching the coast of the United States of America. They will be incorporated into the Operational Plan of the Hurricane Committee of WMO Regional Association IV (North and Central America and the Caribbean). ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:47:44 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>WMO sponsors workshop in South Africa on Climate Watch systems</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/WMOsponsorsworkshopinSouthAfrica.html</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[WMO is sponsoring a workshop on climate monitoring, including the implementation of Climate Watch systems in Africa, with a special focus on Eastern and Southern Africa.
The meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, 15-18 April, is organized by the South African Weather Service. It will consider how to implement Climate Watch systems in the region by maximizing existing infrastructure and expertise.
Given that extreme climate events have a negative impact on the well-being of populations and  sustainable development, there is a need to improve climate risk management capabilities. This necessitates an efficient extreme weather and climate warning system, based on the continuous monitoring and forecasting of climate anomalies, is such a warning system. ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:46:37 +0200</pubDate>
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					 <title>New PhD Partnership Focuses on Weather, Climate and Water</title>
					 <link>http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/news/index_en.html#twas</link>
					 <description><![CDATA[An agreement between the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) will support up to ten PhD fellowships per year focused on weather, climate and water-related hazards.

The partnership joins WMO and TWAS in a venture to build science capacity in least-developed and developing nations that are vulnerable to weather-related risks and the effects of climate variability and change. 

"The ever evolving need for expertise in weather, climate and water related sciences require more resources and broader partnerships to nurture young scientists. The agreement between WMO and TWAS will help build capacity in the human resources we need to face current and future global challenges," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud,

"Across the developing world, there is a critical need for expertise in a wide range of climate-related subjects," said Romain Murenzi, executive director of TWAS. "Through this agreement, we are pleased to strengthen our collaboration with WMO and start the process of providing high-quality training opportunities to give developing countries the chance to build their own indigenous scientific capacity."
 ]]></description>
					 <pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:09:14 +0100</pubDate>
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