National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS)

GS Paper III Environment and Ecology

Context:

India is embarking on launching its maiden National Framework for Climate Services towards providing climate services and information.

National Framework for Climate Services draws inspiration from the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), which existed during the third World Climate Conference in 2009.
Nodal Agency: India Meteorological Department (IMD)
Mandate
- To strengthen the observational network on land and the seas, improve the data inflow and eventually use it to run weather and climate models for deriving climate predictions.
- To support efforts to prepare for new climate conditions and adapt to their impacts on water supplies, health risks, extreme events, farm productivity, infrastructure placement, power and energy generation, etc.
Significance
- National Framework for Climate Services will work in bridging functioning gaps between the various agencies who require climate services.
  - These include the hydrological, power, renewable energy, transport, dams and irrigation, health agencies are central, state and other levels.
Countries, where the National Framework for Climate Services implementation is in the advanced stages, include
- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Madagascar, Moldova, Niger, Senegal, Chad, Togo, Tanzania, Vanuatu and South Africa.

GFCS is a partnership of governments and organizations at a global level, for the production and better usage of climate information and services.
Aim: To facilitate researchers and users of climate information and services to join hands to make informed and actionable decisions for long-term betterment.
GFCS envisages to generate high-quality data from national and international databases on temperature, rainfall, wind, soil moisture and ocean conditions and other vital weather parameters.
Major Components of GFCS
- Observations and Monitoring
- Research, Modelling and Prediction
- Climate Services Information System
- User Interface Platform
- Capacity Building